What's Good For the Goose
by siouxsmn
Summary: When some old friends visit Tracy Island, how does Tin-Tin like getting a taste of her own medicine. See Author's notes at the beginning of the story for a better explanation.
1. Chapter 1

**What's Good For The Goose**

_This is my very first attempt at writing fanfiction in the Thunderbirds arena so I hope you enjoy it. _

_I always thought that Tin-Tin was quite unfair to Alan and their relationship when Eddie Housemann showed up on the Tracy doorstep. Alan was quite upset about it, but Tin-Tin acted like he didn't even exist. Then, all of a sudden she thinks that Alan is ill (thanks to Grandma!) and he's back on her radar. It would have been interesting to hear the conversation they had after Alan gets back from rescuing Eddie. Anyway, here's an idea I had on how Tin-Tin feels about getting a taste of her own medicine when some old and dear friends of the Tracy family come to visit the island. _

_All the characters are here with 2 exceptions. I've added Fermat from the movie because I always thought he was kind of sweet, and I think it adds some dimension to the character of Brains._

_I also have to give a very BIG Thank you to Quiller and Kirsteen for being my beta readers. They both gave me some good suggestions and helped to make the story thus far, a lot better. _

Jeff Tracy winced as the sound of a slamming door reverberated through the house. He glanced quickly over his shoulder before turning back to the video conference he was holding with some key members of his management team at Tracy Enterprises. He caught the look on the face of his son John who was sitting in at the meeting at Tracy Headquarters as Jeff's proxy and noted the slight shake of John's head. Thankfully, it appeared that no one else heard the noise, or were at least wise enough not to comment on it.

Clearing his throat Jeff resumed his discussion. "Right. I think we've finally gotten the schedule slips back on track, but I want to hold a deck review in two weeks to make sure that the rest of the IPT's have realigned their schedules to the new baseline."

Julie Mayotte, a Director at Tracy's Enterprise in charge of the overall scheduling of several different programs that Tracy Enterprises has contracts with, spoke up. "Mr. Tracy?" She glanced at John who was sitting next to her. "I'd like to meet with John before he leaves and give him some hard copies of the critical schedule slips so you can see the full details. It's too much information to project during a video call."

John glanced at his father and nodded. "Sure Julie. We can get together right after we finish this meeting."

"On that note then, I guess we can call this meeting to a close," suggested Jeff. Everyone agreed at it had already been a very long meeting. Jeff noted, with mild curiosity, that John seemed to hang back a bit. Guessing his son wanted to speak to him, he kept the videoconference line open.

When everyone left the meeting room, John got up and shut the door. Returning to his seat, he grinned at his father. "Was it my imagination or was that a sonic boom I heard?"

Jeff snorted and shook his head. "That boy! I swear one of these days he's going to tear a door off its hinges."

John laughed. "You should have put in sliding doors throughout the whole house, Dad. You can't slam those!"

"If I had known the few conventional doors I put into the house would be used as weapons, I would have!" Jeff sat shaking his head. "I'm not sure what to do. I've left Alan alone to work this through with Tin-Tin, but the problem seems to be getting worse, not better."

"I'd wager it would get better a lot quicker if Eddie Housemann would stop sending Tin-Tin letters and emails"

Jeff looked up in shock. "She's still getting them! I thought she put a stop to that."

John squirmed slightly. "She tried to Dad, but he's still sending them through. She asked me to put up a blocker on her email, but somehow his letters are still getting through. I promised her I would take a look at it again when I get home."

Jeff frowned. "Okay. I'll have Kyrano have a chat with her and I'll try and find out what's up with Alan. I may just wait until you come home since would probably be better at getting Alan to open up."

"I'm sure Scott or Gordon can get him to talk," John pointed out. "Alan usually tells Gordon everything."

"Not this time, son. Alan is keeping quiet. He all but bit Scott's head off when he tried, and he pushed Gordon into the pool," explained Jeff.

John sighed. "Alright, Dad. I'll give it a try when I get home. I'm planning on being wheels up just after sun-up tomorrow so I should be home by lunch."

"You think you'll have everything wrapped up there by then?" Jeff was mentally going through the checklist of items he had asked John to look into.

"Easily," John said confidently. "I don't think it was a bad as you were predicting and it's nothing we can't get an easy grasp on."

"Okay John. I trust your judgment and we'll debrief tomorrow night." Jeff was glad that no new crisis had emerged while John was in New York.

"F.A.B. Dad. I'll see ya tomorrow," John grinned as he signed off. Jeff shook his head in amusement. No matter how hard they tried when they were off the clock as IR operatives, his sons just couldn't completely stop using FAB.

Jeff sighed heavily and looked over his desk at the work sitting there, beckoning to him, it seemed. He swiveled his chair so his back was to his desk to look out over the view of the island that his office allowed him and caught sight of his youngest son heading out towards the pool, ignoring Tin-Tin who was trying to get his attention.

Deciding he was going to speak to Alan tonight, Jeff turned back to his desk to start on his pile of work. Quickly getting lost in the details, the time slipped by unnoticed by Jeff until the chimes of an incoming call on the vid-phone startled him back into reality.

Not even glancing at where he was reaching, Jeff reached over and turned on the device. "Yes?"

A snort could be heard followed by, "Why does it seem like every time I call you, your head is buried deep in a pile of scrap paper?"

Jeff's head jerked up at the voice and he found himself looking at the grinning face of his childhood friend from Kansas, Greg Simpson. "GREG! You ole rat. How are you?"

Greg laughed. "I'd wager, old man, that I'm doing a lot better than you are. I KNOW when to leave my work at work."

"What work!" Jeff snorted. "The only work you ever did was helping my mother bake cookies, and then it was only because you got your grimy hands on the first batch."

"What can I say. Your mom made the best cookies in Kansas."

"Uh huh." Jeff smiled knowingly.

He and Greg had grown up together, their family farms being right next to each other. The two of them spent their summers helping their families with harvests and livestock. When Jeff left to join the Air Force, Greg was right behind him. Later, Jeff went into NASA and Greg got into the aeronautical maintenance sector. Luckily for the two of them, the experience they gained in the Air Force not only helped Jeff build Tracy Enterprises, but Greg was able to build his own firm – a major supplier of aeronautical parts. Many times the two of them talked about merging their companies, but each knew that Greg's company was not as successful and it could have left Greg with nothing. Jeff valued their friendship too much to allow that to happen, so instead, he gave Greg as much business as he could handle.

Greg smiled at his friend. "I've been doing a lot of thinking about the old days, Jeff. With Mom and Dad gone, I decided to sell the farm. I wanted to let your mom know, but I heard she moved in with you."

Jeff nodded. "Yeah, about a year ago. I'm glad too. I wasn't happy about her being out there all alone after I heard your folks died. I'm sorry we couldn't make it back for the funeral." Jeff and his mom were quite upset when they'd heard the news about the death of their friends. Unfortunately, everything had been against them at the time. Alan and Scott had been hurt, and Thunderbird One had undergone some extensive damage when an explosion caught them as they were leaving a rescue site. Scott barely managed to get his 'bird back home, landing it on the runway. This was one of the few times that Virgil had Thunderbird Two home before Scott so they were able to use the giant monolith to move Thunderbird One into the hangar and out of sight.

"Not a problem, Jeff. It was a really quick service," Greg explained.

Jeff smiled. "How are your kids doing, Greg? I haven't seen them since we left Kansas."

"They aren't kids anymore Jeff. In fact, they are the reason I'm calling you."

Jeff's curiosity peaked. "Oh? What could those brats of yours want?"

"HA!" Greg snorted. "My three brats have nothing on your five! All kidding aside, Jeff. The kids are helping me out with the sale of the farm and all three were back in Kansas last weekend. When they came back, they all talked about the fun they had growing up and the memories with your boys. We kinda got to talking and the kids thought it would be fun to see if we could come out and visit."

"What a great idea," Jeff exclaimed enthusiastically. "I know the boys would love to see ya'll."

Greg's enthusiasm grew with Jeff's. "Not just the kids, ya know. I'd love to spend some time with you and talk about stuff OTHER than work. Not to mention having some of your mom's great cooking."

Jeff grinned. "Ahh Ha! The ulterior motive surfaces. You don't want to see me you just want a home cooked meal. So when did you want to come out?"

"Well, it would have to be soon. Mitchell and Trevor have to leave on an overseas trip for the company pretty soon and Lindsey starts her new job at the end of the month."

"Is tomorrow too soon for you?" Jeff laughed at his friend's astonished expression.

"Uhmm…well….I'll have to check with the kids, but I don't think. . ." Greg's reply was cut off as another face appeared on the monitor.

"Hi Mr. Tracy!" exclaimed the excited voice of Greg's youngest child, his daughter Lindsey.

"Hi Lindsey! My word! You're not a little girl with freckles and pig-tails anymore!" Jeff smiled at the pretty young face beaming back at him."

Lindsey scrunched up her nose and made at face at Jeff. "Don't remind me, PLEASE! You tell those boys that they still owe us a rematch on the volleyball game they cheated on."

"Only if you guys are up to playing volleyball in the pool."

Lindsey waved her hand to dismiss the notion. "We'll beat 'em, after all S comes before T in the order of things. See ya tomorrow!"

Jeff chuckled as he watched Greg admonish Lindsey and then tell her to go get her brothers. He was reminded of Greg's wife as the girl was the spitting image of her mother. Greg's wife Lisa was best friends with his Lucy. Greg lost Lisa about six months after he lost Lucy. Lisa was killed by a drunk driver when she was driving all the Tracy and Simpson kids home from school. None of the kids had been hurt, as the car had broad-sided Lisa's side of the car and she was killed instantly. Jeff knew that Scott, who had been sitting in the front seat, still sometimes had nightmares about that day if a rescue reminded him of it.

Jeff refocused his gaze when Greg came back online. "You sure you can be ready for us that quick, Jeff?"

"Not a problem," assured Jeff. "John is in New York at Tracy Headquarters and is heading home tomorrow morning. He'd have to land in LA to refuel, so its not big deal to pick up a few extra pounds of luggage."

"HEY!" exclaimed Greg. "I resemble that remark. . . or should I say Lindsey will. Sounds like a game plan to me." _(yes, I meant to say resemble. Common phrase used when someone makes a personal joke about someone and they agree with it. Saying I resemble that remark means the same as yeah, yeah you're right). _

"Great! I'll call John and let him know and he can give you an ETA on his arrival into LA. He'll probably land at Orange County rather than LAX."

Greg nodded. "Give him my cell phone, Jeff. Lindsay will probably be on the phone all night saying goodbye to her friends."

"_I heard that, Daddy!"_ Greg and Jeff laughed as Lindsay's voice carried into the conversation.

"Can't wait to see the place, Jeff."

"Pack for summer and we'll be looking forward it to, Greg," Jeff signed off. He sat back and smiled, remembering Greg's three kids and the times they had with his own. Greg's oldest son Mitchell was in age between Scott and Virgil. Trevor was in between John and Gordon, and Lindsey was a few months younger than Alan. The kids were inseparable during their childhood and more often than not all the kids could be found together playing in one barn or the other.

Looking forward to the visit, Jeff got up – work forgotten – and headed to the kitchen. There he found his mother and Kyrano preparing the evening meal.

"Mother, guess who I was just speaking with?"

Josephine Tracy looked at her son and smiled at the barely contained enthusiasm. "You're boys are going to be here soon sniffing around for supper. I don't have time for guessing games, Jeff."

Jeff walked over to his petite mother and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Okay, Mom. Just letting you know that we're going to have company tomorrow and they'll probably stay for a few days."

Now Josie's curiosity was peaked. "Who's coming, dear?"

"Greg Simpson is coming out with John tomorrow and he's bringing the kids."

"Oh how wonderful!" Josie exclaimed. "It will be so good to see them again. Have you told the boys yet?"

Jeff's grin suddenly turned to a sly one. "Not yet Mother. Thought I would just mention that we're going to have visitors, but not tell them who."

Josie playfully slapped her son on the arm. "You are worse than the boys sometimes, Jefferson Tracy!"

"Yeah, but it's not often I get one up on them, Mother," Jeff laughed as he walked back to his study. He could hear his mother and Kyrano talking about getting the guest house ready for them. He quickly called John on the phone.

"Don't tell me. You thought of something else that could go wrong, probably won't, but you want me to look into it anyway?" John complained, but his eyes held a twinkle of amusement.

"Watch it, John or you'll be pulling Tracy HQ duty more often," Jeff threatened good-naturedly.

John threw his hands up in surrender. "Anything but that Dad, Please!" They both laughed.

"Actually John, the reason I called you back is that you will be picking up some passengers when you land in LA," explained Jeff.

"And what exactly am I to do with said passengers?"

"Well, you better be bringing them back here or Greg Simpson and his kids just might have something to say about it!"

"NO WAY!" John shouted excitedly. "When did you arrange all this? Do the guys know?"

"Slow down son," Jeff laughed. "I just got off the phone with Greg about 10 minutes ago. They live in LA now and have wanted to come out and visit for a while and now just seems to be the best time. I need you to call him and let him know what time you expect to be landing in LA."

"It'll be great to see them again. I haven't spoken to Trevor since we left Kansas," John reminisced. "Mitch and Lindsey are coming too?"

Jeff nodded. "Yep. Listen, John. I want to surprise your brothers with this so don't say a word if any of them call you tonight. I told Grandma and Kyrano. They'll be getting the guest house ready for them. It's going to be hard enough to keep the extra preparations quiet from the guys."

John grinned at the thought of having one up on his brothers. "You got it Dad. I'll give Mr. Simpson a call right now and set things up. Guess I'll be a little later than expected though."

"I'll let it slide this time John."

John suddenly got serious. "Uhm. . .Dad? What about International Rescue? I know it's been quiet lately but the odds of not getting a call while they are on the island. . ."

"I know John," Jeff assured him. "Actually, I've been thinking about talking to Greg about becoming an operative for us for some time. His company does supply many of the parts for the 'birds, even if he doesn't know he's doing it. It might actually be handy to have someone of his position in the know about us. I'll just have to decide how and when to tell them all."

John agreed. "Good thinking Dad. I think they can be trusted. We've known them our whole lives. We'll, I better get something to eat and then get to the apartment and ready for bed. Gotta long day tomorrow."

Jeff glanced at the clock and mentally calculated the time difference, realizing that it would be close to 7pm for John now. "Sorry to spring this on you last minute, John. I didn't realize it was getting so late there."

"No problem Dad. It'll be fun to catch up with them and have a distraction while I fly home," John assured him. "We'll see ya tomorrow!" He signed off.


	2. Chapter 2

I always thought that Tin-Tin was quite unfair to Alan and their relationship when Eddie Housemann showed up on the Tracy doorstep

**What's Good For The Goose**

_Again, I owe a big thanks to my two beta readers. Its because of them that I'm able to put up two chapters right away. _

Chapter 2

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Jeff whistled as he walked towards the dining room, he could already hear Scott and Gordon bantering good-naturedly. He'd almost reached the doorway to the room when Brains appeared.

"Mr. Tracy, I…I…I've go..got some good nnnneewws," Brain told him.

Jeff stopped and looked at his friend and resident genius. "What's up, Brains?"

"Well, I've…I've finished the re. . .reb. . .assembly of the new diagnostic system f. . for. Thunderbird Five," Brain explained. "It's ready t. . to be installed."

Jeff smiled. "That's great, Brains! John will be happy to hear that. It'll make running program checks on 5 a lot easier."

Brains nodded. "Yes, Mr. Tracy. "N….Now, I just have to in. . .install it. We should do so im.. .im. .as soon as possible."

Jeff paused to think. He glanced into the dining room to see where the boys were. Seeing how close they were to the table, Jeff grabbed Brains' arm and pulled him back into the hallway.

"Brains. Got a favor to ask of you." Brains looked at his employer with curiosity.

"Some old friends of ours are coming out to visit tomorrow and I know all the boys would love to be here. Would you mind going up to Five to do this so Virgil can come home? I know it's a lot to ask to do that work alone," Jeff reasoned.

Brains smiled and waved the apology aside. "I can take Fermat wi. . .with. . .up. He can help and there are other. . .sy. . .systems checks we can rrrru. . .do."

Jeff was relieved. "Great. How much time will you need to be ready to go up?"

Brains thought for a moment. "The com. . .co. . parts are already loaded onto Thunderbird Three. Just need to pack a tr. . .t. . .bag for us. I would say by the time dinner is over."

"Great!" Jeff was glad his friend wouldn't mind covering for the family. "Oh, one more thing." He glanced quickly towards the dining room, then moved in close to his friend. "The boys don't know about our friends coming, so don't say anything."

"I won't."

Brains headed to the table. Jeff paused when he saw that Brains, Fermat, Tin-Tin, Scott and Gordon were the only ones seated at the table. Grandma and Kyrano were placing food on the table. Brains had just told Fermat about their new plans and Fermat was excitedly talking to his father.

"Where's Alan?" Jeff asked.

Tin-Tin looked up. "I don't know where Alan is." Jeff could sense some sarcasm in her tone at the mention of Alan's name.

Scott noted the tone of her voice and looked over at Jeff. "I saw him stalking off a short while ago." He glanced at Tin-Tin. "He's probably at his spot."

Jeff sighed. "Okay. I'll be right back." He turned and headed back to his office. He didn't want to have this chat in front of the others in case Alan was still in a bad mood. Sitting down, he activated the comlink to buzz Alan's wristcom.

"Alan, come in."

Alan's face appeared on the computer screen. Jeff could see the stress on his youngest son's face. "Alan, we're getting ready to eat supper."

"I'm not really hungry Dad, "Alan told him.

"Maybe not now but you will be later and won't have time to grab something to eat. So I need you to come back now," Jeff replied.

"Why can't I get something to eat later Dad?" Alan gave him a puzzled look.

"Because you'll be taking Brains and Fermat up to Five and bringing Virgil back home,"

"I thought John was going back up when he comes home?" Alan was confused.

"Change in plans son. Brains and Fermat are going to install the new diagnostic system and run some computer checks, so they'll monitor calls," Jeff explained. "Besides, how often do all five of you get to be home at the same time?"

Alan smiled. It didn't happen very often and, if he was honest with himself, getting off the island for a time while they did the switch over would help his attitude. "Okay Dad. I'm heading back. Be there in five."

Jeff smiled at his son. "Okay."

Jeff stood up to head back to the dining room then decided to give Virgil a call and give him a heads up. Activating the link, Jeff spoke. "Base to Thunderbird Five, come in."

Virgil's face appeared on the screen. Jeff wondered why he looked a bit frazzled. "You okay son? Is something wrong?"

Virgil shook his head. "No, Dad. No calls or anything like that. Just a bit of space sickness. I'm okay, but I'll sure be glad to get off out of orbiting tin can!"

"Well, I've got some good news for you then," Jeff chuckled.

"What's up?" Virgil wondered.

"Alan is going to be bringing up Brains and Fermat after supper. Brains is installing the new diagnostic system and he and Fermat are going to stay up there for a few days and run tests on all the systems. You'll be coming back down with Alan," explained Jeff.

The relief on Virgil's face was quite apparent to Jeff. "Thanks!"

Jeff smiled warmly at his second oldest son. "I know you weren't happy about going up there Virgil, but I appreciate your stepping up to the plate."

"It made sense, Dad," reasoned Virgil. "If I hadn't twisted my knee at that rescue, I probably would have complained about being sent up here. At least this way, I still feel like I'm part of the action."

"Even after hearing that I sent John off to New York to cover at HQ for a few days?"

"Especially after hearing that. Because now John has done his tour of duty in New York and I've done mine on Five. That means, the next time around it's either Scott or Gordon."

"Aaahhhh. So there was an ulterior motive to your decision."

Shaking his head, Virgil replied. "No. Just a few paybacks that are now paid up."

Jeff chuckled. He had given up trying to keep up with his son's paybacks and favors a long time ago. "Duly noted, son. You have served your time, and admirably I admit. Only one frantic phone call in the week you've been up there. I'm impressed. We'll make an astronaut out of you yet."

"Not likely, Dad. Not likely," Virgil was adamantly shaking his head. "Johnny and Alan can keep all this. That frantic phone call from me was only because John didn't tell me the coffee maker was broken and he had asked for a new one to be sent up in the supplies, which aren't coming up until John comes back!"

Jeff shuddered in mock horror. "Yes. I can see the need for your frantic phone call at 8:30am on a Sunday morning." He then chuckled as Virgil stuck his tongue out at him. His second oldest was the only one who would do that to him and it was usually in a moment of sarcastic fun.

"Cute, Dad. Anyway, my knee is all better now so when I come home I can get back into the game."

"Speaking of which, I'm going to tell the guys this at supper, but since you won't be here I'll tell you now," Jeff explained. "We're going to have some visitors on the island for a few days. They are flying out with John tomorrow. We'll be on Operation Cover-Up for a bit."

"Who's coming out?" Virgil asked curiously. Jeff only shook his head.

"You'll have to wait and see." Jeff's eyes twinkled a bit. "But I expect you boys to be on your best behavior! No screwing around."

Virgil sighed a bit. He and his brothers had been through this routine before when his Dad wanted to give a prospective client some extra attention. Spit and polish, yes sir, no sir and best table manners. They hated doing it because they felt like their Dad was putting them on display. Not that they would ever mention that to Jeff. They knew he was proud of each of them and their individual achievements and didn't get many opportunities to show them off. So they buttoned up and became well-behaved gentlemen for the short time.

"Okay Dad. I'll get the details from Scott when I get home. How soon will Brains and Alan be here so I can be ready?" asked Virgil.

"Give it about 2 hours, son. Brains has all the equipment packed in Thunderbird 3. I know there are some supplies that need to be sent up that'll need to be loaded. As soon as Alan gets back to the house and grabs some dinner, they will be on their way."

"Back to the house?" Virgil asked puzzled. "Where did Alan go?"

This time, Jeff sighed. "He went for a walk. Do me a favor Virgil. Don't ask Alan how things are between him and Tin-Tin."

Virgil frowned. "I know, Dad. I talked to Scott after Alan practically decapitated him. Maybe the round trip will cheer him up. You know how he loves to fly Thunderbird Three."

Jeff nodded. "I know. Just be prepared for some moodiness from him on the return flight."

Virgil drew back and his eyes got big. "Moodiness? From Alan? Surely you jest, Dad. Not Alan!" he remarked sarcastically.

"Bye, son," Jeff chuckled as he reached to close down the link. Virgil grinned.

"Later, Dad!"

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Jeff rejoined his family at the dinner table, noting that Alan had already returned and was halfway through his supper. Jeff caught the disapproving glance his mother gave him for almost missing the family meal.

"Sorry, Mother. I gave Virgil a call so he would be ready for Alan and Brains," Jeff apologized.

"Very well, dear," Ruth accepted the apology. She gave Jeff and knowing look. "I've been holding off giving the boys dessert until you could join us."

"But Dad is here now, Grandma, so can we have our dessert please?" Scott asked with a slight (very slight) whine to his voice.

Jeff chuckled. "What did you make for dessert, Mom? Must be something chocolate if it has Scott pleading."

Gordon joined their father in laughing. Even Alan had to smile at his father's teasing of Scott.

"It just has to be food to get Scott pleading for it," laughed Gordon. He ducked to the side as Scott lined up to smack him on the back of the head. He bumped into Alan, whose response was to push his brother over just as Scott's hand came forward and lightly clipped Gordon on his head.

"Hey!" Gordon exclaimed, turning to Alan. "That wasn't fair. You're supposed to be on my side!"

Alan scowled. "I'm trying to finish my dinner so I can get some dessert before I have to leave. Do you mind?"

Tin-Tin stood up just as Grandma placed a dessert plate in front of her. "No thank you, Mrs. Tracy. I don't really want any." She picked up the plate and gave it to Scott and then turned and left the dining room. Everyone sighed and looked at Alan.

Alan, still digging into his dinner felt the stares and looked around at everyone. "What?" he asked.

"We'll discuss this later, boys," Jeff jumped in before anyone could start on his youngest son. "I've got something more important to discuss with you."

"What's up, Dad?" Gordon wondered. He grinned when he caught Scott's expression, knowing his oldest brother wanted to ask the question but couldn't because he was swallowing a bite he had just taken. Anyone would have had a hard time talking with one of Grandma's chocolate brownies melting in their mouth.

Jeff caught Gordon's smirk at Scott and looked over at his first born. He shook his head as he watched Scott swipe his finger through the chocolate icing that dribbled off the side of the brownie and onto the plate. Scott stuck his finger into his mouth and then noticed his father watching him.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. Jeff only laughed.

"Just try and grow up before tomorrow, Scott. John is bringing some visitors home with him. They will be staying with us for a few days."

"Who's coming?" Gordon immediately asked.

Jeff caught his mother's eye and struggled to keep a straight face. "Just some visitors. I'll need you boys to be on your best behavior while they are here."

All three boys groaned to themselves and caught each other's eye. Like Virgil, they suspected they knew what it meant. Another client their father was trying to impress, and they were about to be put on display. Jeff caught the looks and covered his mouth with his napkin so his boys wouldn't see the smirk on his face. After a few moments, he continued.

"I'll expect you boys to be with me on the runway to greet our guests and show them every courtesy. Is that clear?" Jeff's voice was as stern as he could make it under the circumstances.

"Yes, sir," three voices responded.

Scott turned to his father. "Operation Cover-up while they are here?"

"Brains will send out alerts via our wristcoms on vibrate. He'll call me ahead of time if he overhears an emergency call or suspects we might get called out," explained Jeff. "But to be honest with you, this is one client that I'm actually considering adding to our IR Agents list and may tell him about International Rescue while he is out here."

Scott, Gordon and Alan all stared at their father in surprise. "Any more surprises you want to throw our way tonight, Dad?" Gordon chided.

Having finished his supper, Jeff stood up and took the dessert plate from his mother. "None that you need to know about Gordon." Jeff turned to his youngest son. "Alan?"

Alan looked up at his father expectantly, knowing his father wouldn't expect him to answer while he was chewing food.

A slight pang tightened in Jeff's heart as it usually did whenever his youngest son looked at him with complete innocence and a question on his face. It was the same look he saw many times in the face of his beloved wife Lucy, whom Alan took after in many ways. Pushing the feelings back to the corner of his heart, Jeff addressed his son. "When you get to Five, make sure Brains has everything he needs and all the equipment is placed where he needs it to be to set it up. We all know the man's a genius but heavy labor isn't his forte. You and Fermat make sure and help."

Alan smiled, probably the first genuine one his family had seen in a few days. "Sure, Dad. Not a problem. John and I have already discussed on where to best place the equipment. I think John already has a section of the main console ready to receive it."

Jeff nodded, not surprised that his two astronaut sons were way ahead of him, as usual. When it came to Thunderbird Five, it may have been John's 'bird, but Alan was just as conscientious about it as his older brother was. "Good. I'll be in Command and Control waiting to send you up."

Wiping his mouth off with his napkin, Alan stood up and grabbed his dishes. "I'm on my way now. Brains should already be there." He moved to place his dishes in the sink and glanced at his grandmother.

Josephine nodded at her youngest grandson. "It's okay dear, I'll rinse them for you this time. You better get going or else you and Virgil will be flying home in the middle of the night and wake everyone up at some ungodly hour."

Everyone chuckled at her comment, knowing the truth behind it. Thunderbird One might have been the only 'bird based in close proximity to the house, but when Three took off or landed, the whole island could feel the vibration from the powerful engines and thrusters.

**Author's Notes**

I'm waiting for my beta to return Chapter 3 so it'll be posted as soon as I receive it. There may not be another update until this weekend, but never fear. I'm working on two other stories at the same time as this one. So, I'm keeping busy.

Hope you enjoy and please give feedback!!


	3. Chapter 3

_This should be a good time to state that Alan's age throughout the story is the same as it was in the tv show. I didn't want anyone to get confused because I'm mentioning Fermat here. I know he wasn't part of the tv show, but like I mentioned before, I think it would bring a bit of dimension to the character of Brains, plus sort of give Alan an ally who is around his own age. I know some of you will disagree with it. Hopefully, the remaining storyline will help you overlook it. _

_I must also apologize for any gross spelling errors that I may have missed. I ran a spelling and grammar check to try and clear up the errors made when my cat decided that he wanted my attention focused on him and not on the Thunderbirds and sat on my keyboard. I think I got them all. Darn cat!_

_Thanks to everyone who has reviewed my story thus far. Hope you continue to enjoy it!_

Chapter 3

Alan and Fermat chatted about everything and nothing during the flight up to Thunderbird Five. They had given up trying to draw Brains into the "Guess Who's Coming to Tracy Island" game they were playing after Brains distractedly gave them an answer about computers fitting into consoles.

After a few moments of silence, Fermat had to risk asking his friend a question and incurring his wrath. "Alan? Is ever….everything okay with you and Tin-Tin?"

Alan shot his friend a quick look. Fermat had grown up quite a bit since high school and no longer wore glasses. He was now wearing contacts. His stutter was much less noticeable to. It seemed like the more confident the lad became, the less pronounced his stutter was. For the most part, Fermat hardly stuttered at all anymore unless he was scared or nervous.

"It will be Ferm," Alan assured him. "I'm just still a bit peeved at her over the way she treated me when Eddie Houseman showed up."

"Alan, that was weeks ago!" Fermat chided his friend. "I've never known you to hold a grudge for that long."

Alan's cheeks burned crimson and he fought to control his temper, his first reaction being to want to lash out. After a few moments of deep breaths, he finally felt he could answer his long-time friend. "I know that Fermat. But what you and the others seem to be forgetting, or just conveniently overlooked, is that Tin-Tin is the one who ignored me for several weeks while she got past her snit over the way Eddie left and never called her back. Then, just when she starts to open up again, he starts emailing her and sending her flowers and stuff. She gets all worked up, starts ignoring me and then decides that Eddie isn't worth it and expects us to go back to being friends. I can't switch gears that fast." He paused to catch his breath.

"I'm sorry, Alan. I didn't realize she was doing all that to you. I guess none of us did.".

"Nope. You all just saw me ignoring her and figured her attitude was all my doing because she's really careful about making sure she doesn't cause a scene around everyone else," Alan countered. Neither said a word for a few long moments.

"Thunderbird Five to Thunderbird Three, come in please," Virgil's voice rang out through the cabin of the ship.

"Thunderbird Three here Virgil. Getting anxious?" Fermat teased.

"Smart-ass," Virgil shot back. "No, you guys passed the outer zone and didn't call in. I was afraid something was wrong with the radio."

Alan swore under his breath as he realized his discussion with Fermat caused him to miss the check-in point with the space station. "Sorry Virg. I was distracted for a moment. We'll be there in a few."

"I'll be waiting. Do you need me to have the platform at the hatch for supplies?" asked Virgil.

"Might be a good idea," Fermat replied. "Some of these parts are pretty heavy."

"Gotcha. "See ya in a few!"

Alan waited until he signed off then turned to his friend. "Fermat. I promise, I'll do my best to work things out with Tin-Tin. I know what I want my relationship with her to be. She's the one that needs to decide if she wants the same thing with me. But until we work it out, I'll be more open to her."

Fermat smiled. "Works for me, Alan. But remember, I'm up on Five for a week. It's your brothers you need to convince."

Alan screwed up his face at the thought but quickly pushed it to the back of his thoughts as docking procedures with Thunderbird Five needed to start.

TBTBTBTBTB

The changeover took less time than they figured and Alan and Virgil were soon racing back home. Although not the closest of brothers, the two did chat amiably as Alan brought Virgil up on what had happened on the island in his absence.

"So, Sprout. Any clues as to who this mysterious visitor is?" queried Virgil.

Alan shook his head. "Nope, and Father's not talking. I get the feeling though that he and Grandma are up to something. They kept sneaking glances at each other over dinner."

Virgil glanced at his watch and calculated the time it would be when they get home. "Grandma will be in bed by the time we get back so we won't be able to get anything from her."

Alan snorted. "Get real Virg! Grandma can be more tight-lipped than Dad on keeping secrets when she wants to be."

Virgil laughed along with his brother. "True. But you have to know how to get around that."

"What, you have some secret weapon for getting Grandma to talk? Share it!"

Virgil shook his head. "Nope. Big Brother prerogative. Only Scott and I know the secret."

"So much for that then," Alan said resignedly. "I sure would like to know who the mystery guest is though. I can't remember ever seeing Dad act so mysterious before."

"Guess we'll just have to wait until John gets home tomorrow to find out," Virgil replied in his own resigned tone. "I sure do hate the dressing up part though."

"Me to, bro. Me to." As an afterthought, Alan added, "Thanks, Virgil."

"Thanks for what?" Virgil wondered.

"For not hounding me about Tin-Tin."

Virgil gave him a knowing grin. "Scott and Gordon driving you nuts, are they?"

Alan rolled his eyes at his brother. "You have no idea!"

"I can imagine," Virgil agreed. "Al, none of us are meaning to intrude on whatever is going on between you and Tin-Tin. I think we pretty much know, or can guess. We're just worried that it might be distracting you too much. It isn't a problem as long as we're at home, but if we are out on a rescue. . ."

Once again, Alan found himself taking deep breaths to control his initial response to want to lash out at everyone. When he felt he could respond without ripping Virgil to shreds, he turned to his brother. "Virgil, like I told Fermat, and I'd appreciate it if you would pass it on to the others, I'll talk to Tin-Tin as soon as I can. We'll work things out."

"That's all we're asking for Sprout. But before we speak any further, you better call Base and check-in. I doubt Dad would be as forgiving with you about missing a check-in as I was."

Alan frowned at his brother when he realized that he almost missed another check-in point due to a discussion about he and Tin-Tin. _'I really do need to talk to her, if anything just to get my mind back on track.'_

TBTBTBTBTB

As Grandma predicted, Jeff could almost feel the vibration as Thunderbird Three's jets went into burn mode as Alan brought the great ship in to land. It actually felt more like a small earthquake and Jeff looked around at his knick knacks to make sure nothing was in danger of falling and breaking. He smiled as he noted they weren't even moving. Just another shining example of how Brains had managed to design the house around the launching and landing requirements of two rockets and still maintain a homey feeling.

As Jeff watched the red ship drop into her launch pad, he cocked his head to listen to any sound from within the bowels of the home. His mother had gone to bed, as had Kyrano, both knowing they would have a busy few days with four extra people in the house to feed. He wasn't sure where Tin-Tin was, but he knew that Scott and Gordon were down in the family game room playing pool. They would be heading over to meet up with Alan and Virgil as the departed the launch bay and rode the monorail over to the main hanger. He was tempted to go and join them, but decided to let the boys enjoy their reunion.

Jeff had decided to call it a night and was walking into his bedroom when he heard the voices of his sons heading into the hallway, speaking quietly.

"Do we know when John is due to land?" Alan whispered.

"About 1500," Jeff responded as he walked out from his room. His four boys jumped, startled. They had expected their father to be in bed by now.

Jeff walked up to Virgil and gave him a hug. "Welcome home, son."

Virgil smiled as he returned his father's hug. "Thanks, Dad. It's good to be back on terra firma."

Jeff laughed as he released Virgil from the hug and turned to the rest of his brood. "Alright fellows, it's late so I suggest ya'll hit the sack."

"Can I beg and plead one last time to find out who is coming tomorrow?" Gordon had dropped down to his knees in front of his father with his hands clasped and pretended to beg. His brothers all laughed knowing the futility of Gordon's attempt.

Jeff reached down and ruffled his red-headed son's hair. "Nope. Sorry son. No such luck." He held his hand out to Gordon who grabbed it and pulled himself up.

"Oh well. Can't blame a guy for trying," Gordon sighed.

Jeff laughed. "Get to bed boys. You'll find out soon enough."

Everyone headed off to their respective rooms. Jeff waited for a moment and then went down the hallway to Alan's room and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Jeff walked in at his son's invitation. Not seeing him in the bedroom area, Jeff walked towards the bathroom. Alan stuck his head around the corner. Jeff could see him changing into his pajamas.

"Something up, Dad?" Alan wondered as he moved to the sink and got ready to brush his teeth.

Jeff leaned up against the doorframe and crossed his arms as he watched his son. "Nothing's wrong, Alan. I just wanted to talk to you about. . ."

"Me and Tin-Tin?" Alan interrupted.

Jeff pursed his lips and looked down for a moment. He wasn't sure how to proceed since he didn't know exactly what the relationship between his youngest son and Tin-Tin was.

"Dad?" Jeff looked up.

Alan sighed. "I'm sorry for the way I've been acting. I made a promise to Fermat and I'll make the same promise to you. I'll talk to Tin-Tin and try to work this out. I can't guarantee it'll all go back to normal, but I'll try and be more open to her."

Jeff smiled as he reached over and grasped Alan on the shoulder. "That's all I can ask for, Alan." He patted his son on the back. "Finish brushing your teeth and get to bed."

Alan shook his head in mock exasperation. "Sure you don't want t o stay and tuck me in?"

"Wise guy. Keep it up and I just might." He joined Alan in laughing as he turned and walked out of Alan's room. A smile lit his features knowing that all would soon be well on Tracy Island.

TBTBTBTBTB


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks to everyone so far who has responded to my story. I know there are a contingent of fans out there that don't like the movie verse and have commented as such. That's fine with me. I'm writing for my own pleasure (and extreme bordom since I'm basically bedbound for 2 week). If I was writing to gain anything from it, then Gerry Anderson would want a piece of it and I'm no one near his league of writing for this great fandom. _

What's Good For The Goose Chapter 4

The next morning, the four island-bound Tracy brothers were finding themselves almost wishing that a rescue call would come in and let them get away for a while. Even a major landslide, earthquake or hurricane would be less stressful than the cleaning regime Grandma Tracy had put on her grandsons. Even Jeff was finding a way to make conference calls for work, just so he could stay out of his mother's way.

Finally, about 1:30pm, Scott dragged himself into the lounge and dropped down heavily onto one of the chairs. His head dropped back on its own and he closed his eyes, too tired to even try and open them up to see which of his brothers was shuffling into the room.

The groan as that person sat down let Scott know it was Gordon. While Scott and Virgil had been relegated to dusting, vacuuming, and straightening up the rooms in the main floor, Gordon and Alan had been sent outside to clean up the pool, barbecue area and boathouse. In addition, each person had to make sure that nothing indicating the presence of International Rescue was accidentally lying around. Scott felt he and Virgil had the easy part since Grandma and Kyrano kept the house pretty clean, whereas the outside area was used a lot by everyone and not always kept as clean.

Scott finally got the strength to open his eyes and look over to Gordon. "You okay, Gordon?" Scott asked when he noted how stiffly Gordon was sitting.

"No," came the tired reply.

Scott could hear pain in his brother's voice. Pushing his own tiredness aside, he got up and walked over to where Gordon was sitting and knelt down in front of him, placing his hands on his brother's knees. "What can I do?"

Gordon shook his head. "It's just a spasm. It'll pass in a minute."

Virgil walked into the lounge at that moment and saw his brothers. "His back again?" he asked as he knelt next to Scott, who nodded his reply.

"How about we get you into the jacuzzi, Squirt," Virgil recommended. "The warm water and air jets would help."

Gordon finally opened his eyes and looked at his two older brothers. He smiled at their concern. "I'd love to Virgil, but I'm too tired to try and get there by myself."

Virgil shook his head and looked over at Scott. "Is this Father's new way of getting us to stay in line to meet his new clients? Wear us down to absolute exhaustion!"

"No, it isn't" Jeff responded as he walked into the lounge and over to his sons. "I'm sorry about this. I didn't know your Grandmother had been working you boys so hard. I was working on something in my office."

"What is so important about this client that it has Grandma on this cleaning fetish?" Scott wanted to know. Jeff raised a brow at the slight tone of accusation in Scott's voice but knew it was only because he was worried about Gordon.

"Not now, Scott," warned Jeff. "Let's get Gordon into the Jacuzzi."

Knowing that arguing was useless, Scott, Virgil and Jeff helped Gordon up and outside to the smaller pool. Jeff had a small Jacuzzi installed about a year ago to help his boys work out the aches and pains they get during rescues. If he was honest with himself, he probably used it just as much as the boys did. A welcome side effect of the Jacuzzi was that Gordon discovered that the jets provided a steady massage to his lower back and were especially helpful when small spasms plagued him.

They had just reached the patio and were starting to head out to the pool area when Grandma walked in. "I certainly hope you boys got your work done before you head out to the pool," she warned. It was then that she realized they were helping Gordon. "Gordon did you hurt you back?"

"I'm okay, Grandma," Gordon looked at his grandmother over Virgil's shoulder. "Nothing a few minutes in the jacuzzi won't help."

Jeff let his boys take Gordon out when he hear his mother muttering, "Oh dear, this is all my fault!"

"He'll be okay, Mother," Jeff assured the distraught woman.

"Oh I'm sorry, Jeff! Do we know how he hurt his back?"

"He tried to move that cast iron table by himself," Alan explained as he walked into the kitchen. "I told him to wait until I could help, but he didn't listen. Is he okay, Dad?"

"He will be. Why don't you go out with them and tell everyone to cool off in the pool." Jeff glanced at his watch. "We've got about an hour and half before John lands. You fellows can relax until then."

Alan smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Dad. I'll tell the fellows."

"Alan, I'll make up something to eat and bring it out. You tell Gordon to stay in that Jacuzzi until he is better," Grandma told him.

"Thanks, Grandma!" Alan ran off to join his brother.

TBTBTBTBTB

Jeff was sitting in his office straightening up some papers when John called in.

"Tracy One to Tracy Island"

"Tracy Island here, John," Jeff responded.

"We're about 5 minutes out, Dad." Jeff could hear John chuckling a bit and some noise in the background.

"What's all that noise in the background?"

"Is it safe to talk?" John wanted to know. Jeff was about to respond when Scott walked into the office.

"Not yet, John," warned Jeff. "We're waiting for you though."

Scott raised his eyebrows when he heard John shush someone, probably not realizing he had clicked the transmit button. He was further intrigued when he heard a muffled "smart ass" comment in the background.

"Sorry, Dad," John came back on the radio chuckling. "We're on final approach now, requesting permission to land."

"Area is clear, son. Permission to land. We'll see you in a few," Jeff signed off.

Jeff noted Scott's questioning look about the call. "You'll find out soon enough. Gather your brothers up and let's get d own to the landing strip," Jeff ordered as he headed out.

TBTBTBTBTB

Jeff, Grandma, Scott, Virgil and Alan all walked down to the landing strip. Gordon was following in the monorail, his grandmother forbidding him to walk that far as his back was still a bit stiff. Plus, she reasoned, they would need it to bring up the luggage of the guests.

The boys caught her use of the plural and wondered exactly how many people were coming to visit. They knew the guest house only had room for four people or more if there were couples in the group. They would just have to wait and see.

As John brought Tracy One in for a landing, the boys strained to try and see any faces through the window. They shared a quick look when all three of them caught the face of a young woman briefly before she pulled back from their view.

Tracy One finally rolled to a stop in front of them and Jeff quickly walked over to the hatch door to open it before any of the boys could move. He caught their look of chagrin and chuckled to himself.

Before anyone on the ground could move, the hatch door opened up and the stairs were lowered. A well-dressed man appeared and keeping his face shielded from the boys view, walked down the steps.

"JEFF! How great it is to finally be here!" The boys heard the familiar voice and looked on with raised eyebrows when the stranger and their father embraced. It was then that the man's face was revealed to the boys.

"Mr. Simpson!" Scott exclaimed.

"That's right Tracy Boys! The Simpson's have returned," a female voice could be heard saying.

Scott, Virgil, Gordon and Alan all turned to the plane to see Lindsey Simpson coming down the steps flanked by her brothers Mitchell and Trevor. There were excited shouts of surprise and much hugging as the two families reunited with each other.

TBTBTBTBTB

_For those of you enjoying my story so far, I'm sorry that this chapter is a bit short. I had foot surgery on Friday to repair a damaged Achilles tendon and the recuperation is not going very well. Its very difficult to keep from putting any weight on that foot whatsoever when you're trying to walk on crutches around a 9 month old Great Dane, a 2 year old German Shepherd and 6 cats. _


	5. Chapter 5

_Sorry for the delay on this chapter. I'm not really happy with it, but couldn't figure out how to change it to make it better. Blame it on how awful I am at coming out of anesthesia following surgery. Hopefully, I'll be able to redeem myself in the next chapters. _

What's Good for the Goose  
Chapter 5

"JEFF! How great it is to finally be here!" The boys heard the familiar voice and looked on with raised eyebrows when the stranger and their father embraced. It was then that the man's face was revealed to the boys.

"Mr. Simpson!" Scott exclaimed.

"That's right Tracy Boys! The Simpson's have returned," a female voice could be heard saying.

Scott, Virgil, Gordon and Alan all turned to the plane to see Lindsey Simpson coming down the steps flanked by her brothers Mitchell and Trevor. There were excited shouts of surprise and much hugging as the two families reunited with each other.

TBTBTBTBTB

Once the luggage had been loaded onto the monorail – the Tracy boys groaning at the amount of luggage Lindsey brought – and sent on its way back to the house without Gordon, the reunited Tracy and Simpson families headed towards the main house. It was hard to tell one conversation from the other. Just like when they were kids, the Tracy brothers and the Simpson kids paired off into the groups they spent the most time with.

Mitchell Simpson had his arms around the shoulders of Scott and Virgil and they were walking ahead of the group. Directly behind them, Gordon was walking backwards in front of John and

Trevor Simpson and they were animatedly talking of past times. Alan and Lindsey were trailing behind the group, their heads close together as if conspiring on something. Jeff and Greg walked behind their combined brood, chuckling as the kids were acting as if no time had passed at all. Jeff even noted that Gordon's stiffness seemed to disappear in light of the new arrivals.

"This place is an engineering marvel, Jeff" Greg commented when he got his first view of the house.

Jeff turned towards his friend and smiled. If he only knew! "Not so much, Greg. When I saw the island the first time, the ideas of what I wanted to do just sort of popped out. All I needed was an architect to help design it and builders to build it."

"Just needed to find . . ." Greg snorted and slapped Jeff on the back. "You always did have the gift of the understatement." Jeff only shrugged as they continued heading towards the house.

The party had just reached the pool area when Lindsey suddenly cried out, "GRANDMA!" While all the others looked on in surprise, Lindsey ran up to the petite Ruth Tracy and hugged her.

"Lindsey, oh how wonderful it is to see you again." Before she knew it, Ruth Tracy found herself surrounded in hugs by Mitchell and Trevor as well. The Tracy brothers looked on, smiling in amusement.

Ruth finally pulled away and looked over at Greg and Jeff. "Well, it certainly took the two of you long enough to decide on this visit. These are not the kids I know so well. They're all grown up now!"

Greg laughed and gave Ruth a hug. "Sorry about that, Mrs. Tracy. Time just got away from us."

Ruth pulled back, put her hands on her hips and glared at Greg. "Well, just because you let the time slip away, gives you no cause to go back to calling me Mrs. Tracy. I seem to remember a time when you called me mom. Has it been so long that you don't remember?"

Jeff chuckled and walked over to the outside mini bar when his mother turned and glared at him.

Ruth continued her rant, but everyone could see the twinkle in her eye. "And just look at you and the kids. Nothing but skin and bones! Guess that's to be expected living in California and not eating properly." Ruth shook and head and walked away mumbling. "Guess we'll just have to make sure and fatten them all up. Better speak to Kryano about making extra. . ." She suddenly stopped and turned to her grandsons.

"You boys make sure and get everyone settled into the guest house before you take off for parts unknown. Knowing all of you it will be extremely late before you go to bed and I don't want our guests stumbling around in the dark."

"Wow" Trevor exclaimed when he saw the pool and the surrounding terrain. "I can't wait to change into my trunks and take a dive into the pool."

"Sounds like a great idea," Mitchell agreed.

Scott stepped up and took charge. "Alright then, let's get moving. Virgil, John and Alan, you grab some suitcases and let's show them where the guesthouse is. Gordon, why don't you grab some towels and get the pool area set up."

Gordon looked about ready to complain that he could help when he noted the warning look that Scott gave him. Not wanting to argue in front of their guests, Gordon only nodded and walked away.

The Tracy brothers just shook their heads in amusement at their oldest brother's usual 'step up and take charge' attitude. Greg Simpson stepped up to grab some bags to help, but Scott stopped him.

"I'll get that Mr. Simpson," Scott stated. "You can stay here and visit with dad."

Greg laughed. "Yes Sir! But don't you think I should know how to get to my room?"

"I'll show you the way later, Greg. Let the kids get settled first," suggested Jeff as he waved a glass in front of Greg.

"Aahhh. You remembered," Greg gratefully accepted the glass. He took a sip and sputtered when it wasn't what he was expecting. "What is this?"

Jeff laughed. "It's this wonderful concoction called Iced Tea. Very popular on the islands around here."

"Funny, Jeff. When did you become a tea drinker? Don't you have anything stronger?"

Jeff shook his head. "Not just yet, Greg. It would be better if you waited until tomorrow before you started drinking anything stronger. The climate out here can really sap your strength if you don't drink more liquids first."

Greg raised his eyebrows and looked at Jeff speculatively. "Sounds like you're speaking from experience."

"Too many experiences, old friend. When we first moved out here, I was still drinking somewhat heavily and ended up dehydrating myself so badly I had to be rushed to the hospital. Turns out, while I was there getting treated, all the boys ended up being treated for some level of dehydration."

"We really have gotten out of touch with each other, Jeff."

Jeff gripped his friend's shoulder. "Then let's remedy that situation during this visit."

Greg touched his glass to Jeff's. "Works for me!"

TBTBTBTBTB

Scott Tracy led the small parade through the main house and to the guest house. Lindsey and Alan were still trailing behind the group when Lindsey caught sight of someone and stopped. Alan noticed and turned around.

"Something wrong, Linds?" He turned to see who Lindsey was looking at. "Oh, hi Tin-Tin. Come and meet some old friends."

Not taking her eyes of Lindsey, Tin-Tin shook her head. "I'll come by later, Alan. I need to help my father." Not even giving Alan a look, she turned and walked away.

"Who was that?" Lindsey was intrigued by the young woman. It seemed as though she was being sized up and it made her feel a bit uncomfortable.

Alan sighed when Tin-Tin walked away. "That's Tin-Tin. She lives here with her father."

Lindsey seemed unimpressed. "She's pretty well dressed for a servant."

"She's not our servant!" Alan angrily replied.

"Whoa!" Lindsey stepped back and put her hands up. "I'm sorry. Didn't mean to start a war."

Alan took a few deep breaths before replying. "No. I'm the one that's sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. You didn't know."

"It's alright. I'm used to your temper flare ups, Alan Tracy."

"Cute, Linds. Real Cute." Alan took the lead again to catch up with the rest of the clan. "Tin-Tin and her father both work for my dad and they live here with us, but they are NOT our servants. It's kind of complicated to explain, so you'll just have to take me word for it."

"Fair enough. Thought could you at least explain to me why Tin-Tin was looking at me like a bug through a microscope?"

Alan only shook his head as they walked into the guest house and joined up with the others.

"Lose your way, Sprout?" John smiled at his youngest brother.

Alan suddenly realized in the excitement of meeting the Simpson clan, he never welcomed his brother home. He hadn't seen John since Christmas as John couldn't make it down from Five for Alan's Spring break due to an emergency which required keeping Five manned. So this was the first time Alan got to see him, in person, in almost six months. Even though they chatted frequently in the evenings over the vid-com, it wasn't the same as being face-to-face.

"Couldn't be helped Johnny. The glare of the sun off your hair temporarily blinded me. I had to stop so my eyes could readjust."

The others in the room chuckled, but John only walked over and grabbed Alan in a headlock and knuckled rubbed his head. "Great to see you too, Squirt." After a few moments of mock wrestling, Alan finally was able to stand up and gave his brother a hug.

"So where is my room?" Lindsey asked as she walked around Alan and John and headed into the living room area.

Virgil pointed to a room behind her. "That's the main bedroom. It has its own bathroom and your brothers decided that you should have it."

"Yep, and Dad would agree," Trevor commented.

Mitchell laughed and clapped his younger brother on the shoulder. "No kidding. The three of us can share one bathroom and get us business done in less time than it takes Lindsey."

Virgil happened to glance out the living room windows that faced the pool area. "Hey! Dad's firing up the grill. That means barbecue tonight!"

Scott grinned and rubbed his hands together. "Awesome! Hey. Can you guys find your way back to the pool area? We can all meet down there in 30 minutes. That'll give you time to unpack."

Mitchell and Trevor shared a look. "WE will meet you in 15. Lindsey will be down when she's down."

Lindsey turned and stuck her tongue out at her brothers, then headed towards her bedroom. "I'll see you guys down there in 10." Just before she entered the room, she turned back towards the group. "Tracy? Don't forget, we still have a volleyball match to settle."

Gordon grinned as he remembered the unfinished game they played years ago. "You're on. But just know this. We don't have a volleyball court. It'll be played in the pool."

The Simpson kids shared a look and a silent agreement was made. "You're on, Gordon!" Trevor agreed.

"See you in the pool! And don't forget, S comes before T in the order of things," Lindsey sang out an old phrase.

The Tracy brothers groaned. "That is only true when it comes to the alphabet, Lindsey," argued Scott. "But when it comes to pool volleyball, it'll be T before S."

Playful jeers followed between the two families as the Tracy brother's headed out to change.

TBTBTBTBTB


	6. Chapter 6

_Well, I must be getting more in depth with the story because I'm really giving my beta reader, Kirsteen, a job with each chapter. Fortunately, we haven't had too many difficulties with some of the difference in the writing styles of UK English and American English. She's doing a great job though. _

What's Good for the Goose

Chapter 6

It was actually closer to an hour before the Simpson kids joined the Tracy's at the pool. Not because they were waiting for Lindsey to unpack, but because Grandma had decided to help Lindsey and the two got caught up in their gossip.

Mitchell and Trevor were sitting at the pool with Scott, Virgil, John and Alan, and all were watching Gordon swimming slow laps in the pool.

"Is Gordon okay, Scott?" Mitchell asked after watching him swimming for a few minutes.

"Yeah. He hurt his back a bit this morning, but it's loosening up nicely," Scott told him.

"I think he meant is Gordon recovered from his accident?" Trevor said.

"You heard about it?" John asked.

"Are you kidding? It seemed to be the only news story worth mentioning for a while there. Didn't you guys watch the news?" Mitchell couldn't believe they didn't know about the constant news updates that were shown on all the major networks in the United States following Gordon's hydrofoil accident.

Virgil glumly shook his head. "I guess we were all too preoccupied with waiting to hear how Gordon was doing to be watching the news."

"In my case, I was trying to get back to Earth from my satellite station with NASA and Scott was somewhere in Europe catching numerous flights trying to get home," John explained. "I wasn't exactly glued to a TV set."

Scott agreed. "Me either. I honestly couldn't tell you how I managed to make it to the hospital. I just went where people pointed."

"Even with Dad and I there almost right a way, watching the television was the last thing we wanted to do," Alan remembered sadly. Scott reached over and rubbed his youngest brother on the back.

"As to answer your question though, he recovered. He just has some back problems from time to time if he overexerts himself," Virgil answered their original question.

John smiled as he watched his younger brother. "And he usually solves that problem by swimming laps."

Gordon finally stopped and paused to catch his breath. He noticed his brothers and the Simpson brothers watching him intently. "What?"

"We were just wondering if you were going to share the pool with the rest of us," John flicked some water at Gordon.

Gordon grinned. "Only if it's for that volley ball rematch that Lindsey keeps reminding us about."

Scott frowned as he looked at Gordon. "I think the volleyball match should wait a few days, Gordon."

Gordon rolled his eyes. "Scott, I'm fine."

"Even so, I think that waiting a few days before trying anything that strenuous can wait," Jeff said as he and Greg joined their children near the pool. "Besides, the barbecue is ready for grilling and I'm just waiting for the meat to be brought down. Once I start, it'll only be a matter of minutes before dinner is ready."

"YES!" Scott exclaimed. Everyone laughed. Jeff looked up towards the house.

"Here it comes now." Greg turned and frowned when he saw the Malaysian man walking towards them carrying a tray laden with meats ready for grilling.

"Is that . . . Jeff, is that Kyrano?"

"Sure is."

Kyrano approached the two men and set the tray down on the table. "Mr. Simpson, it is an honor to meet a friend of the Tracy family."

Greg smiled and held out his hand to Kryano, who took it in a firm grasp. "Kyrano, it is a pleasure to meet you! I had to meet the guy who could manage to keep the Tracy clan in line and not lose his sanity in the process."

"I owe Mr. Tracy a great service and this has allowed me to pay it back."

"Now, Kyrano," Jeff admonished. "It was not a big deal. I told you that many times."

Kyrano only bowed slightly, smiled and walked back towards the house. "As you wish, Mr. Tracy."

Jeff sighed in exasperation as he put the meat on the grill. "I might as well just give up on that."

"What's the story here, Jeff?"

Jeff glanced at his friend, than turned his attention back to the grill. "It really wasn't a big deal. I had gone to Paris for a few weeks to work on a big contract that was a boost to Tracy Industries. I was there during the Paris Air Show and used that opportunity to make a lot of contacts.

Greg frowned as he tried to remember. "I remember that. You called me a few weeks afterwards about some potential contract bids and wanted to know if I was going to compete in the bidding process.

Jeff nodded. "Yes. Anyway, I had a few hours of free time to myself one day, so I decided to walk around and pick up some gifts for mom and the kids. I had gotten lost and walked down a what I thought was street, but turned out to be an alleyway to some restaurants. When I approached one of the restaurant's these two guys carrying guns come running out pushing a man and a woman who was carrying a baby. Before the guys had a chance to see me, I grabbed one of them and knocked him out. The other guy got so scared he fired his gun and hit the woman."

"I take it the family was Kyrano and his wife and daughter?"

"Yes. Kyrano and Tin-Tin survived, but his wife died from the gunshot. I felt awful, like it was my fault, if I hadn't jumped in she might still be alive."

"But Kyrano apparently doesn't see it that way."

"He told me that the two guys were planning on killing all of them because of what they had seen. They had already killed the restaurant owner and several of the staff. Kryano had grabbed his family and they were running out the back door when the guys caught up to them."

"What was Kyrano doing at the restaurant?"

Jeff chuckled. "Kyrano and his wife were quite the chef team. I didn't realize it at the time, but the restaurant was one of the premier five star dining establishments in Paris because of those two. After the shooting, the restaurant closed down."

"So how did Kyrano end up with you?" asked Greg.

Jeff laughed. "Don't tell me you don't remember! You were the one to set up the introduction. Remember? The shooting took place a few days after I had arrived in Paris. Three weeks later, I was more than ready to go home. I had talked to mom and the boys just about every day and she was getting more and more overwhelmed with having to take care of things at home. Some of the guys with NASA suggested I consider an Au Pair so I was spending my last few days in Paris looking into that. I wasn't having a lot of luck because most of the agencies I went to only placed Au Pair's with families in France. You told me you had heard some other of the guys on base talking about a guy who was looking for work and was quite a handyman, cook and gardener. I figured, why not, so I went to look him up. Turns out, it was Kryano and his daughter. He decided not to go back to cooking at a restaurant and was doing whatever they could to survive."

Jeff shook his head and looked up towards the house. "Kyrano was on his last dollar, literally, and was about to kicked out of the small apartment he and Tin-Tin were living in when I approached him with the offer of moving back to Kansas with me and helping to take care of my family. The guy never asked a single question or hesitated. So, when I left for America a few days later, Kyrano was right behind. He's been with us ever since."

"Wow!" was all Greg could say at first. "He's stayed with you all this time as your servant?"

Jeff shrugged. "He and Tin-Tin are more like family. Tin-Tin's like a little sister to the boys, well, except maybe for Alan. Look around the villa. All the plants and trees you see are the results of Kyrano's gardening." He flipped the steaks and burgers. "And shortly, you'll get a taste of his special seasonings."

"Sounds more like a blessing for both sides than any type of an obligation. It also sounds like it became a situation that worked out best for everyone involved," Greg smiled.

TBTBTBTBTBTB

In the kitchen, Lindsey and Grandma Tracy had been catching up on old times while preparing salads, side dishes and a condiments tray for the dinner. Lindsey turned the conversation to more current things.

"So what does everyone do here all day, Grandma? It can't be very exciting doing nothing but swimming all day," Lindsey prodded.

"Now don't you be worrying about what those boys do," Grandma scolded her. "They have plenty of projects of their own to work on and they each do development work for their father. They keep busy."

"Okay, Grandma. I don't remember seeing any type of a building for R&D though, especially for the stuff that Tracy Industries does."

"There's a lot to this island you haven't seen yet, dear. Although the boys don't really do any building for the company." Grandma waved her hand in a dismissive fashion. "Quite frankly, I never did understand all that engineering stuff and the drawings and the mumbo jumbo they speak when their talking about it. My engineering skills are strictly limited to the kitchen."

Lindsey laughed. "I guess it can be a bit weird if you don't understand the lingo." Lindsey hesitated. "Uhmm, Grandma? What can you tell me about Tin-Tin?"

"Tin-Tin? What about her dear? Did you meet her already?"

"Sort of. When Alan was taking me to the guest house, we bumped into her in a hallway. Alan introduced us, but Tin-Tin looked at me like I was some sort of a bug."

Grandma sighed. "Oh dear. I guess I'm going to have to get involved in that mess once again," she said to herself. She reached over and patted Lindsey on the hand. "Don't you worry dear. Tin-Tin is actually a very sweet girl and the two of you have a lot in common. Its just that, well, she and Alan are sort of a couple and they have had some problems of late."

"Alan and Tin-Tin? I don't see it." Lindsey shook her head.

"Well, they are still in the stumbling around each other phase, but the two of them have known each other since they were both ten. I'm afraid a lot of the problem is that Alan isn't very subtle about how to romance a lady," admitted Grandma.

"So what happened to cause the break-up?" Lindsey wanted to know.

"They haven't broken up dear. It's just that an old friend of Tin-Tin's showed up and swept her off her feet. I'm afraid it put poor Alan into a state."

At that moment, Tin-Tin walked into the kitchen. "Mrs. Tracy, do you know where my father is?" She refused to look at Lindsey.

"He was taking the food down to the grill, dear. I'm not sure if he is still down there."

Turning and seeing all the boys down there, Tin-Tin paused. "Thank you. I'll speak with him later."

"Are you going to join us for dinner?" Grandma wanted to know. She knew that Tin-Tin loved it when Jeff barbecued and would never miss a chance to enjoy the meal.

"I'll get something to eat later. I'm working on something for Brains right now and I need to monitor it." With that, Tin-Tin left the room.

Lindsey watched her leave and then looked over at Grandma. "See what I mean. She wouldn't even acknowledge my presence."

Grandma crossed her arms and glared in the direction that Tin-Tin went. "I'm going to have to do something about those two."

TBTBTBTBTB

The sun was just beginning to set, painting the sky bright orange and changing the color of the water to a golden hue. Greg and Jeff sat in some lounge chairs by the pool. The kids had all moved down to the beach and they could just see the flames at the top of the bonfire they had built.

"I can't remember ever seeing a more beautiful site, Jeff," complimented Greg. "Linda would have loved to see it. Remember how she loved to watch the sunset?"

Jeff nodded. "Lucy would have had her easel up and be painting it, probably with Virgil right next to her."

"Is that why you bought the place? I've always wondered why an island in the South Pacific?"

"I've got reasons why I purchased this island. Maybe I'll tell you about them while you are here," Jeff teased his friend.

Greg raised an eyebrow. "So, there is a mysterious reasoning behind this. I wonder if I could guess it."

Jeff chuckled. "Give it a try, buddy."

"Let me think here. Okay, question. Do you own those other islands that I can see?" Jeff nodded, but said nothing. Greg thought for a few moments and then smiled. "Tracy Industries is secretly conducting tests of some fancy new jet fuel and you're using the other islands as test grounds?"

Jeff snickered and shook his head. "Nope. Want to try again?"

Greg sighed and took a sip of his drink. His eyes lit up and he suddenly started to chuckle. "I GOT IT! You are running a branch of International Rescue from this location!"

Greg started laughing harder at his own joke. Even Jeff joined in. "Who am I kidding? You have enough to do with Tracy Industries and its continually expanding business. I just couldn't help it. Lindsey said something the other day after watching the Thunderbirds on TV conducting another rescue and said she bet the guys were all a bunch of weirdos and dogs since they refused to be photographed. Unlike your boys who are most definitely not dogs and are photographed wherever they go."

"Maybe. But I do have to agree with their reasoning behind it." Greg again raised an eyebrow in question at his friend. "Think about it Greg. They are flying advanced ships and using advanced technology in their rescue vehicles. Thinking as a guy well versed in the defense industry, what do you think enemies of the US would do to get their hands on Thunderbird technology?"

Greg nodded in agreement. "No kidding. We would have to completely change our two companies from businesses to help advance our country's technology to helping fight against it. Not what I set up my company to do and I KNOW it's not why you built Tracy Industries."

"In a way, we should be thankful to International Rescue," Jeff hinted a bit more in an attempt to keep the illusion going."

"Thankful, in what way?"

"Their advanced technology is making our customers want to become as advanced as them and they are turning to us to help. Since International Rescue became famous, Tracy Industries bottom line hasn't been hurt."

"Same here. Still, I'd love to have the chance to pitch a proposal to supply parts someday," Greg yawned and stretched.

Jeff looked at his watch and noticed how late it was. He really needed to check in with Brains up in Five. "Uhm, Greg? I need to check on something in my office. Would you excuse me for a moment?"

"Just can't stay away from work, can you buddy?" Greg smiled. "Don't worry about it. Fact is I thought I would just go to my room, unpack and get ready for bed. I'm not ready to try and keep up with the kids yet and I've already had a couple of late nights this week. I'm bushed."

"Okay, Greg. I'll tell the kids to wrap it up soon. Breakfast is usually at 9am so don't worry about getting up too early."

Greg waved Jeff off. "Go do your work. I'll tell the kids to come up soon."

Jeff smiled. "Thanks Greg. It really is good to have you here and catch up on old times."

Greg clasped Jeff on the shoulder. "Me too, Jeff. It has been way too long."

Jeff headed off towards his office and Greg walked down the path towards the beach until he could see the kids.

"MITCHELL! SCOTT!" he called out. Two voices yelling "Yeah" called back. "Make sure you guys all get up here at a reasonable hour. Jeff and I are calling it a night."

"Okay, Dad!"

"Okay, Mr. Simpson"

"OH and boys? By a reasonable hour, I mean BEFORE midnight and not sunup."

This time a whole bunch of "aww Dad!" could be heard. Greg just smiled, shook his head and turned back towards the house. He stopped by the table and loaded up one of the trays with some of the leftovers and turned to carry it back up to the house.

"There is no need for you to do that, Mr. Simpson," Kyrano spoke softly. "I will take care of cleaning up."

"I can help carry this try up, Kyrano. I'm heading inside and it'll be one less thing you have to clean up. After all, my brood helped make this mess."

Kyrano bowed. "As you wish."

Greg waited until Kryano had filled up a tray as well and followed him up to the house. "Do you like being with the Tracy family Kyrano? It has to be a tough job trying to keep those boys in line."

"Alan and my Tin-Tin were 10 years old when I started helping Mr. Tracy. We have been with them a long time and I value the friendship very much. The boys have become like nephews to me."

Greg placed the tray he was carrying on the countertop. "Jeff told me how you lost your wife. I'm very sorry."

Kyrano again bowed slightly. "It makes it easier to be able to share your burden with someone who understands because they carry their own."

Greg nodded. "Yes. And having a family to lean on helps as well. I don't think I've met Tin-Tin yet."

"She has been busy today," Kyrano explained. He knew that his daughter was avoiding the Simpson family after seeing the reunion Alan and Lindsey shared.

Greg suddenly yawned and stretched once again. "Excuse me Kyrano. It's been a hectic few days and I'm afraid it's starting to catch up to me."

"I can make you a nice herbal tea that will help you to relax and sleep, if you wish," suggested Kyrano.

"I don't want you to go to any extra trouble for me."

"I have already made some for Mr. Tracy, it would be no bother." Kyrano quickly made up a cup and handed it to Greg. "The tea will be just right by the time you get to your quarters."

"Thank you, Kyrano," Greg bid him a good night and headed towards his room.

TBTBTBTBTB

_I'm not a person who begs for reviews, and I do appreciate all that I receive. Your comments let me know if I'm doing a good job or not. And those that give me criticism, I appreciate it to. Constructive criticism helps a writer grow. _


	7. Chapter 7

**What Good For the Goose**

**Chapter 7**

_Okay, there is still a bit more background on the Simpson family in this chapter. I'm actually sort of writing two separate storylines in this, but I promise, the Lindsey / Tin-Tin catfight will be starting pretty soon. _

Kyrano walked into Jeff's office just as he established contact with Brains in Thunderbird Five.

"Brains, sorry it took me so long to get in touch with you," Jeff apologized.

"Nnnnn. . . no . . .it's okay, Mr. Tracy. Fermat and I have been. . .been. . .keeping busy with the updates."

"How is it going?"

"We. . . we. . .got the new system. . . installed. Fermat has been ru. . .ru. . . . run . . . doing checks to test it. So far, it has worked as expected."

"That's great," Jeff was pleased. "Where's Fermat now?"

Brains smiled. "I had to send . . . send . . . put him to bed. He fell asleep at the . . . console."

Jeff laughed. "Poor Fermat. Don't work him too hard Brains." Jeff then noticed the kids coming up from the beach. "I better run now Brains. The kids are coming in and they may head to the lounge."

"Okay, Mr. Tracy. I'll check . . . check . . . call in tomorrow. Good night."

"Night Brains." Jeff signed off just as a knock sounded on his office door. "Come in."

The door opened and Scott came in, followed by his brothers and the Simpson kids. "Where's Mr. Simpson?"

"He went to the guest house to unpack and turn in. He's pretty tired." Jeff caught the look that Mitchell, Trevor and Lindsey shared with each other. "Something wrong, kids?"

"Did he have anything 'strong' to drink, Mr. Tracy?" Trevor asked.

Jeff frowned and shook his head. "Nothing stronger than ice tea. I warned him about trying to drink anything stronger on his first day in the tropics."

"Is there a problem, Mitch?" Scott asked his long time friend.

Mitchell, instead of responding right away looked at his younger siblings and shared a silent communication amongst them. The Tracy brothers watched on in wonder, occasionally sharing a look with their father. Mitchell finally nodded and looked back to Scott.

"If dad finds out I told you this, he's going to go ballistic, so I'd appreciate it if what is said here, stays here."

Jeff was starting to worry now. "Mitchell, is there something wrong with you father?"

Lindsey sat down on the edge of Jeff's desk and draped her arm across the back of Jeff's chair. "Daddy had a minor heart attack about two years, Mr. Tracy."

"WHAT!"

"What happened?"

"Is he okay?" were questions all asked at the same time by Jeff and his boys.

Mitchell gestured for everyone to sit down, then he moved to sit in the chair closest to Jeff's desk. Trevor and Lindsey stayed back to let their elder brother take over the story

"Mr. Tracy," Mitchell began. "It's been a few years since you've talked to dad and probably even longer since the two of you had a business transaction where you met face-to-face." Jeff nodded. "Since you haven't been in touch, you probably don't know that Simpson's Aerospace isn't doing so well."

Jeff and Scott shared a quick glance and then Scott spoke up. "Mitch, what are you saying? Are you losing the business?

"No, at least not in the way I think you mean. Let me explain." Mitchell drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly to have a moment to gather his thoughts. "About five years ago, when Simpson's Aerospace lost that maintenance contract to Sikorsky Aircraft, Dad didn't seem too put out by it. We aren't really set up for helicopter maintenance and it could have cost us more money to get the equipment to do so. No one really seemed to mind and that seemed to be the end of it."

Mitchell paused, so Trevor took up the story. "Except it turns out it wasn't. After that loss, the company started losing out on almost everything we were bidding on. We tried to figure out why because we knew our bids were coming in low."

"Did you guys ever figure it out?" John wondered. "I mean, it sounds like the industry blackballed the company and I see no reason as to why."

Mitchell nodded in agreement. "It sure does, and yeah. We figured it out. It wasn't too hard actually, but it sure upset Dad. We found out it was one of the members of the Board of Directors. Seems like someone bribed him to give them copies of the bids we were sending out."

Jeff frowned at hearing this. Bids for work in the defense industry are proprietary data meant to be shared only between the company doing the bidding and the company to bid is for. What happened meant that confidential information on Greg's company had become known and it could be extremely damaging to the company overall. "Mitch, what was the security classification of the work that was bid on?"

"It didn't have any, Mr. Tracy." Mitchell informed him, knowing what he was asking. "Thankfully, we had that on our side."

Jeff nodded. "Still, the security level would have increased once the bid was awarded. What did you guys do about the board member?"

"Dad notified the appropriate government authorities as well as the company he worked for. Turns out, it was ATK Enterprises. Apparently, they were about to go under and started doing some blackmailing of some board members of other defense industry companies to try and _persuade_ them to help them out. Dad notified the DCMA who in turn, started conducting some internal audits of ATK as well as a bunch of other companies. I don't know if Tracy Industries was included in that." Mitchell paused and looked at Jeff, wondering if this news was going to upset Jeff.

"That would be hard to determine since DCMA conducts audits on a regular basis for each program a company is working on," Virgil said, stating something that they all already knew.

"And they can conduct an audit in such a way that you would never know exactly what it is they are looking for," agreed Jeff. "What was the outcome?"

Trevor shrugged. "We received a written report from DCMA that only stated that we had been cleared of any wrong doing and that we could continue our business operations. It didn't say anything else. Dad did some checking on his own and our Board of Directors had already fired the individual as he was up on federal charges. ATK underwent an extensive audit and lost quite a few of the programs they had previously won."

"Unfortunately, the damage had already been done," Lindsey finally joined in. "The audits and internal investigation took about two years to complete. During that time, we didn't win any new contracts and Daddy had to struggle hard to keep the ones we already had. Once the results came out, we started winning bids again, but they were small, enough to keep us from going under but not enough to get us back in the game."

"Dad worked 24/7 just to try and stay ahead," Mitchell frowned. "I lost count of the number of times I walked into his office at home and found him asleep at his desk."

Scott shared a knowing glance with his brothers, fully understanding the frustration they could hear in Mitchell's voice. It made the absence that the two families shared hurt a bit more.

"Then, one day when I walked in and tried to wake him up, I couldn't," Mitchell's voice wavered. "We rushed him to the hospital and found out that he had a small heart attack."

"It scared all of us enough that Daddy finally cut back on the work and the guys started taking on more responsibilities at work while I took on more of the stuff at home," Lindsey said. She smiled at her brothers. "These two refused to let me drop out of college for a bit to help out anymore."

Jeff had been sitting through all of this, shaking his head in disbelief. "Mitchell, why didn't your dad call me? I could have helped me out."

"We know that, Mr. Tracy. But you know how Dad is. Trevor and I both suggested it a few times, but he only shook his head and said he wouldn't trade in an old friendship just to save something that is more materialistic than a true friendship."

Jeff chuckled. "That sounds like Greg."

"Truth is," Trevor added, "without the contracts that Tracy Industries has with us, plus the new business you have been sending our way, our other contracts may have pulled out. We've pretty much been told that if it hadn't been for you guys still doing business with us, they would have too."

"I'm sorry you guys have been having so much trouble, but I have to agree with Dad," John said. "You should have called us."

"Look, we all know that Greg wouldn't have called me no matter how much trouble he got in," said Jeff. "What we need to focus on now is making sure that he does nothing but relax while he is here, and he and I have a chat before you go. But for right now, I think its time for everyone to head off to bed."

Mitchell nodded and stood up. "He's right Trevor, Lindsey. We've had a long couple of days."

"All the more reason why you kids should get some sleep," Jeff stood up and started shooing them out the office door. "And starting tomorrow, I don't want you to worry about your dad at all, you leave that to me. Your task for the time you are here is to do nothing but enjoy yourselves."

Lindsey turned and gave Jeff a hug. "Thanks, Mr. Tracy. I'm going to say goodnight to Grandma."

Jeff returned the hug. "You know, at one time you kids used to call me Uncle Jeff. And Grandma has been in bed for several hours now."

Trevor and Mitchell laughed while Lindsey hugged Jeff once again.

"Okay, Uncle Jeff. We'll leave dad to you," Trevor promised.

With goodnights all around, the Simpson kids headed to the guest house. The Tracy boys sat down once again and were sharing looks of concern and disbelief with each other. Jeff joined his sons.

"I can't believe all that happened and we didn't know anything about it," Scott exclaimed. "What kind of friends does that make us?"

"What kind of friends does it make us that none of us maintained any contact with them," Virgil chimed in. "They were our best friends for a long time."

"Have we become that wrapped up in our lives with IR?" Gordon asked.

"Alright boys, that's enough," Jeff admonished. "We could sit here all night and hit ourselves for what happened and it won't do any good. We have to focus on here and now and on the future."

"Dad's right," Alan agreed. "But what can we do other than make sure they have fun while they are here?"

Jeff looked thoughtful for a moment. "By doing just that, Alan. Make sure they have fun and let's just re-establish our friendship with them."

"Dad, there's gotta be more we can do, something to help them out on the business side?" Scott argued.

"There will be, son. I had already made the decision to tell Greg about International Rescue while he was here and I see no reason why the kids can't know it too."

"Why would you tell him, Dad?" John asked.

"Well. It's been getting harder to get parts for the rescue equipment and the 'birds when we need them. With IR getting busier, I don't always have the time to make sure security measures are in place to keep us from being found out. With Greg's company in the maintenance sector, I think it would be a lot easier for him to do the legwork for us and ship the parts. That hard part is going to be coming up with a story to explain why the Simpson Industries is shipping parts to us here and not through Tracy HQ's."

Jeff's sons all murmured their agreement. "Do you think he'll go for it, dad? You know how prideful he is," Gordon wanted to know.

Jeff laughed. "Oh yeah. I'm sure he will. When we were sitting by the pool earlier we were joking around and the topic of the Thunderbirds came up. He said he would love to have the chance to present a proposal to them for their business."

"Not knowing all along that he was actually doing just that!" Scott laughed. "Dad, that was mean."

"I know it was. I really wanted to say something then and there, but I have to make sure the time is right. And after hearing what the kids told me, I want to make some phone calls tomorrow to see what I can do to help," Jeff explained. He noticed Alan fighting to keep from yawning. "But for now, I think the rest of you need to get to bed. We'll be busy making sure the Simpsons' have a good time while they are here."

"Okay Dad," agreed Scott. "Come on fellows, let's go. Maybe we can take one of the boats out later and spend the day on the ocean with the gang."

With murmurs of 'sounds good' and 'okay's, Jeff said goodnight to his boys as they all left. He sat down at his chair for a few moments, giving some thought to the discussion held tonight. It was going to take some persuasive arguing on his part, and he and Greg had held this discussion before, but he now felt that making Simpson Industries a part of Tracy Industries was the best way to help his friend. Now he just needed to think of how.

"Oh well, another thing to sleep on tonight," Jeff mused as he got up and headed off to bed.

TBTBTBTBTB

_DCMA is The Defense Contract Management Agency, the Department of Defense (DoD) component that works directly with Defense suppliers to help ensure that DoD, Federal, and allied government supplies and services are delivered on time, at projected cost, and meet all performance requirements. DCMA provides advice and services to help construct effective solicitations, identify potential risks, select the most capable contractors, and write contracts that meet the needs of our customers in DoD, Federal and allied government agencies._


	8. Chapter 8

_I think this chapter is a bit weak as I didn't get the tone I really wanted to set. Please review and tell me what you think!! _

What's Good For the Goose

Chapter 8

Lindsey Simpson reached over to try and swat at the annoying sound coming from the side of her bed, but her hand only weaved through empty air. Finally, being forced to open her eyes, she squinted at the bright sunlight streaming through the bedroom window. She frowned, momentarily forgetting where she was as she looked out the window to the view of blue ocean waters and a tropical forest.

Suddenly remembering where she was, Lindsey looked out the window and spotted the tropical bird sitting on a tree limb that was hanging just outside her window. "Stupid bird. Couldn't you have waited for a more decent hour to start singing!"

Lindsey looked at the clock on her nightstand and saw that it was just coming up on 8am. Remembering that Jeff said breakfast wasn't served until nine, and realizing the need for some coffee, Lindsey quietly snuck out of the guest house and headed towards the kitchen.

Not expecting anyone to be in the kitchen, Lindsey stopped short when she walked in and found Tin-Tin preparing a pot of coffee. Deciding this was her chance to get acquainted as well as find out why it appeared the young woman didn't like her, Lindsey approached her carefully.

"Uhmm, good morning, Tin-Tin."

Tin-Tin jumped, startled that someone was awake and turned around quickly, accidentally spilling some coffee grounds on the floor in the process. "Dammit," she muttered to herself.

Lindsey went to wet some paper towels to start wiping up the grinds while Tin-Tin went for the electric broom that was kept in the corner. Lindsey waved her off. "I've got this. Wouldn't want the noise from the broom to wake everyone up."

"Nothing will wake the occupants of this house up any earlier than necessary," said Tin-Tin. "But thank you anyway."

Lindsey dumped the wet towels with the mess in the garbage. "No problem. It was my fault for scaring you and I don't walk away from my mistakes."

Tin-Tin turned away from Lindsey under the pretense of making up the coffee, but frowned at her comments. She took down two coffee cups and set one in front of Lindsey and both sat at the breakfast bar waiting for the coffee to finish.

"So you have known the Tracy's a long time?" Tin-Tin queried.

Lindsey laughed. "Yeah, you could say that. My parents and the Tracy's seemed to have a competition going for a while there. After Scott was born, my mom decided it was time for her to have a kid and she got pregnant with Mitchell almost right away. I think Aunt Lucy was about eight months pregnant with John when my mom found out she was pregnant with Trevor. With me and Alan, our moms almost got pregnant at the same time. I'm only a few months younger than Alan. So you could say we've known each other our whole life."

"Yes, that would be a long time," Tin-Tin agreed.

Lindsey suddenly snorted as she remembered a moment from the past. "For a while there, I think my mom and Aunt Lucy were trying to set up an arranged marriage between Alan and I. Something about wanting to make sure our families were always together. Needless to say, Alan and I had a few things to say about that."

Tin-Tin felt her stomach clench at the thought of Alan and Lindsey married. It took all of her control to not want to lash out at this person, but Tin-Tin had not spent so many years in the presence of the five Tracy brothers and not learned the art of self-control. "How old were you and Alan at the time?"

"We were both just about to turn five years old. Alan told his mom that girls were yucky and he didn't want to marry me because it would mean he would have to kiss me. Of course, I thought he was just a stupid boy who didn't know anything," Lindsey reminisced. "If I had known he'd grow up to be such a cutie, I may have made a different decision back then."

Tin-Tin got up quickly and walked to the coffee machine, which had finished brewing a new pot. Filling her cup and then Lindsey's she used that time to start drinking her coffee to avoid having to talk anymore. Lindsey, however, took a sip and set her cup down. She remembered her earlier conversation with Grandma Tracy and what she had said about the relationship between Alan and Tin-Tin. Deciding to see if she could figure out where Tin-Tin was heading with it, Lindsey decided to forge ahead.

"So fill me in one the gossip Tin-Tin? Are the guys dating anyone special?" Lindsey saw the blush that creeped up Tin-Tin's neck and knew she struck a tender spot.

Before Tin-Tin could answer, Alan walked into the kitchen, stopping suddenly at seeing the two women sitting across from each other. Noticing Tin-Tin's blush and Lindsey's smug look, Alan found himself wanting to turn tail and run.

"Morning!" Lindsey sang out, jumping out of her chair and running over to Alan to give him a hug. She made sure she was in a position to see the look on Tin-Tin's face when she did, and was not disappointed by the flash of jealousy she saw. Alan returned the hug, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

He released Lindsey and turned to Tin-Tin. "We missed you at the bonfire last night."

"I was busy checking on some things for Brains," Tin-Tin answered off handedly.

Alan nodded. "We all decided last night that it would be fun to take the boat out and give the Simpsons a tour of the island from the water. You're welcome to join us."

"Oh yes, Tin-Tin. You have to come with us. You don't want me to be the only girl on a boat full of all those boys, do you?" Lindsey teased. She hid the smile when she saw Tin-Tin clench her jaw.

"If my father doesn't need me, I'll think about." While Tin-Tin answered Lindsey, Alan had run to answer the phone in the kitchen before the ringing woke up anyone else.

"It's for you Tin-Tin," a dark expression showing on Alan's face. He all but threw the phone at her and sat down at the table. Lindsey, seeing this, sat at the table also and waited.

"Hello?" Tin-Tin paused a moment while listening. "Eddie! It is nice to hear from you again. (pause) No, you didn't wake me. (pause) Well, the Tracy's have some friends visiting right now so it is a bit overcrowded, how about later in the week? (pause) Yes. I got your emails but the mailrun hasn't come yet. (pause) I will definitely be on the lookout for it. Thank you."

Lindsey watched and listened as Tin-Tin continued to very obviously flirt with whoever this Eddie guy was, and Alan was definitely getting more and more angry with her.

"Why, I think a moonlit boat ride would be a wonderful idea. We will have to do that when you come. (pause)"

Alan finally had enough and stormed out of the kitchen. Seeing him leave, Tin-Tin finished up her call. "Eddie, I must go now. I will call you later okay? (pause) Yes. Bye." She hung up the phone and moved to leave the kitchen.

Lindsey jumped up and blocked her way. "You know, Tin-Tin, Alan seemed to be pretty upset by the phone call. Is there a problem between the two of you?"

"If there is, that is between Alan and I and it's none of your business!"

Lindsey stood toe to toe with Tin-Tin and looked her directly in the eyes. "It is because I don't like to see him getting hurt."

Tin-Tin took a step back and glared at Lindsey. "Well then, maybe you should keep your nose out of where it doesn't belong so you won't see him get hurt."

"Listen sweetie," Lindsey's tone became condescending. "I may not have been in the picture of a while, but it doesn't take an Einstein to see that you were purposely flirting with that Eddie guy just to make Alan jealous. I'd watch it if I were you."

"Meaning what!" Tin-Tin demanded; her hands firmly placed on her hips in a defensive stance.

"Meaning if you're not careful, you may find out that Alan will stop caring and look for someone in greener pastures."

Furious, and not able to find the words to respond, Tin-Tin turned and fled from the room. Lindsey gave herself a smug grin and moved to sit back down at the table, giving a little start when she noticed her brothers standing the doorway watching her, both with their arms crossed and disapproving frowns on their faces.

"What?"

"What are you up to now, baby sister?" Mitchell asked.

"What makes you think I'm up to anything, Mitch? I was just having a chat with Tin-Tin," Lindsey reached for her coffee cup and took a few sips.

"Come on Linds," Trevor sat down next to her. "You were purposely baiting Tin-Tin."

"Who was baiting Tin-Tin and for what?" Scott asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Nothing, Scott. Nothing at all," Lindsey quickly responded and left the room, noticing that Kyrano and Grandma had come into the kitchen and she didn't want to say anything further.

Scott sat down and looked to Mitchell and Trevor. "Is this one of those times that I should be happy I only have younger brothers to deal with and no sister?"

"Scotty," Mitchell sighed. "There are still times that I find myself wishing I could have switched places with you and this is definitely one of them. I would gladly trade you four baby brothers for one baby sister."

"Hey!" Trevor exclaimed indignant.

Mitchell laughed. "Okay. Make it two baby brothers."

"Two baby brothers?"

"Yeah, and they have to be Alan and Gordon. That way, I won't be the baby 'brother'" Trevor stated emphatically.

TBTBTBTBTB

Breakfast was over quickly and for once, Jeff didn't complain if people ate and then left the table. He knew the kids were planning on taking the boat out and Scott wanted to get out before it got too hot. The kids were all gathering around the pool area waiting for everyone to join them.

While Scott managed to slip out a door unnoticed by any of the Simpson's to head to Thunderbird Two's hanger to get a powerful portable radio, Alan headed towards Tin-Tin's room. He knocked and opened the door at her invitation to come in.

Alan noticed Tin-Tin had appeared to been crying and was sitting on the side of her bed looking forlorn.

"Uhm, we're getting ready to go out on the boat and I wondered if you still wanted to come with us, Tin."

"I don't think I would be very good company today, Alan. I think I'll just stay here. You have fun."

Alan frowned. "Okay Tin-Tin." He turned to leave, but stopped at the door. "Tin? Maybe after the Simpson's leave, we can take a walk and have a chat. Okay?"

"I'll think about it Alan. You better go before they leave you behind," Tin-Tin turned her back to Alan.

"Fine," Alan's temper flared slightly. Deciding to leave before he could say anything further, Alan turned and left, not seeing Kyrano coming out of his own bedroom and heading towards his daughter.

Kyrano entered to find Tin-Tin crying. "Tin-Tin? Did you and Alan have another disagreement?"

Tin-Tin hastily dried her eyes and shook her head. "No Father. He just came to invite me to spend the day with them on the boat."

"Why did you not go?" Kyrano sat next to his daughter on the bed and put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"Oh Father! I would only be an intruder amongst them. They are all very old friends and would spend the day talking about the past. What could I possibly contribute to the discussion?"

"My dear daughter," Kyrano soothed her. "You are forgetting. The Simpson children grew up with the boys, but only until they left Kansas. Alan was ten at that time which means they only spent the first ten years together. How old is Alan now and how long have you known him?"

"I know what you're trying to say Father, but it isn't quite the same."

Kyrano said nothing, but continued to offer some comfort to his daughter. He remembered the conversation that Jeff had with him about Alan and Tin-Tin and wanting to set things right between the two. He was beginning to wonder if it could be.

"My daughter, may I ask you a personal question?"

Tin-Tin looked at her father curiously. "Of course you may, Father."

"It is not so much a personal question inasmuch as its more of personal insight. I think you need to look deep inside yourself and really decide what it is you want." Tin-Tin looked to protest and Kyrano stopped her with a gentle gesture. "I know what you are going to say, but I think you need to look at this from Mr. Alan's view. Before Mr. Housemann came to visit, I think that I was just waiting for the day when the young man would come to me to ask for your hand in marriage. It would be a request I would gladly give."

Tin-Tin smiled shyly. "I was kind of expecting something along those lines myself."

"So why did the arrival of Eddie Houseman change all of that?" Kyrano wanted to know.

Sighing as she got up from the bed, Tin-Tin began to pace in her room. "I'm not really sure, Father. I knew Eddie during college and even dated him for a while. He was lots of fun and honestly, it was nice to be able to talk to another engineer about stuff that wasn't focused solely on a Thunderbird machine. You remember how things were right before I left for college? Everything around here was focused on one thing – International Rescue."

"Do you no longer wish to be a part of it?" asked Kyrano.

"Oh no, Father. Not anymore. I love what we are doing here and my small part in it. When I came back from college, everything was different. The boys had all grown up a bit more, even Alan."

Kyrano smiled. "Yes. Even though his college days were as _interesting_ as his high school days, young Alan has grown into a fine man."

Tin-Tin grinned. "They all have father."

"So, as you young folks say, what is the deal with Eddie?"

This time, Tin-Tin frowned and sat down next to her father again. "After the second time Eddie came around and dumped me the same way he did before, I realized that his work was always going to come first and I don't want to be second all the time. I know that sounds strange considering what goes on around here, but I know Alan would always put me first over International Rescue."

"If he did not, his brothers would have something to say about it," Kyrano laughed lightly.

Tin-Tin rolled her eyes. "Father! Please. It's bad enough they all treat me like a little sister. And I will admit I do enjoy it from time to time. And, I know it is not something I would ever have with Eddie. I tried breaking it off with him but you know he keeps trying to send me things and call me. I can't make him stop."

Kyrano stood up with a determined look. "We will get him to stop, my daughter. Do not worry. However, I do think you need to focus on how to set things right with Mr. Alan, and soon. Mr. Tracy is beginning to become concerned that he may be too distracted to perform his duties as a Thunderbird."

"I will, Father. I promise. I will do my best to be more accommodating to the Tracy's guests and will definitely let Alan know that I wish to speak with him whenever he is ready," Tin-Tin resolved.

"That is all that one can do. Now, I must go and decide what to cook for dinner. The boys and Lindsey will be hungry when they come back. Would you like to help me?"

Tin-Tin shook her head. "Not yet, Father. I promised Grandma Tracy I would help her with something this morning. I will be there as soon as I am done.

Kyrano bowed to his daughter and left the room. Tin-Tin decided it was time to have a chat with Grandma Tracy to see if she could offer any advice on how to proceed.

TBTBTBTBTB


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

_For those of you enjoying this story, I'm sorry for the delay. Got notified at work that I'm being layed off just after the first of the year and I'm frantically trying to find another job before Christmas. Ho ho ho_

The morning passed quickly for the kids out on the Tracy yacht. Scott, who had been manning the helm, had taken the group on a slow run around the island, with each of his brothers showing the Simpson's some points of interest on their island. They were now approaching the breakwaters to a cove where the brothers loved to go swimming.

"There it is!" Gordon announced happily. While the morning had started out cool, the temperature quickly heated up as the sun rose higher into the sky. Gordon especially, wanted to get into the water as soon as possible and cool off. Scott brought the yacht in as close as he could and powered down the engines while John and Virgil dropped anchor.

"Is this as close as you can get?" Mitchell asked.

"It's as close as we can safely get," Scott told him. He pointed towards the beach. "There's a line of coral that has built up over the years and it's created a kind of breakwater. Problem is, you can't see it very clearly and it'll tear up the bottom of the boat."

"Couldn't Gordon guide you in?" Trevor asked. Out of all the people present, he knew he was probably the weakest swimmer and was warily eyeing the waves and the current.

"Heck no!" Virgil exclaimed laughing. "We tried that once a few years after we first moved to the island and we found this cove. Gordon was doing a pretty good job of guiding Scott through the coral until the tie on his trunks got caught and he literally swam right out of his trunks."

"Yeah and there are some sights that no one really wants to see, and that's one of them," Alan proclaimed. That earned him a cuff on the head from Gordon.

"Oh sure! Mention that why don't you!" Gordon pouted. "But let's make sure we make no mention about the scratch I got from that coral and the coral poisoning I had to deal with."

John put his arm around Gordon's shoulders in sympathy. "Yeah. It was very touch and go there for a bit. Unlike most people who run high fevers and have chills, poor Gordon here had to only deal with not being able to sit down for a week. It probably would have been much worse had the coral scratched any deeper, but it only nicked the fat on his ass."

Everyone laughed, more at Gordon's indignation than anything else. So he did the only thing he could, he took off his shirt and jumped over the side of the yacht and into the cool waters. He was through the breakwater and halfway to shore before anyone saw him surface.

"That looks like fun," Lindsey said. "Anything I need to look out for when I dive in?"

"Alan, why don't you go in with her? It's been a while since any of us have been here and I don't know what changes may have occurred in the coral," Scott suggested.

Alan shrugged. "Okay. You want to put some of the stuff in the first raft and I'll tow it over?"

"All done, Sprout," Virgil announced as he straightened up from where he had been leaning over the side. "You got the towels, spare clothes, blankets and stuff to build a fire so don't let anything get wet."

Alan grabbed the end of the tow rope from Virgil. "Okay. See ya on shore. Come on Linds." Lindsey slid over the side of the yacht and waited for Alan to follow. In no time at all, the two were over the breakwater and headed towards shore. While the others got the remaining supplies loaded onto the other raft, Scott kept an eye on their progress. Once he saw Gordon swim out to help them bring the raft in, which was giving Alan some difficulty in handling with the incoming tide, he knew they be alright.

"Okay. We're ready to join the rugrats," John announced. "You guys ready?"

All of them caught the slight look of apprehension on Trevor's face. Scott and Mitchell shared a knowing 'big brother' look. "You and Virgil go ahead, John," Mitchell replied. "We'll be right behind you."

John and Virgil only waved, jumped over the side and started swimming in, both pulling the raft along.

"Trev, you going to be able to do this?" Mitchell asked his brother. He put a hand on his shoulder for support.

Trevor took a deep breath. "I think I can manage."

Scott walked up to them with something in his hands. "It really does look a lot worse than it is, but if you're still nervous, you can use this." Scott held out what looked like a normal clothing vest. At the puzzled looks of the two brothers, he explained. "It really is a life vest. I know it doesn't look it, but a friend of ours designed it so that it will keep a person afloat but not impede them when they are swimming."

"And Scott and I will be right alongside you," Mitchell vowed.

Trevor shrugged. "Okay. Let's get this show on the road." With Scott's help, he put the life vest on and Scott inflated it. Then, the three of them jumped over the side and with Scott and Mitchell on either side, Trevor swam effortlessly to shore.

Virgil and John had joined the others by this time and they all stood waiting for the rest of their party to join them.

"I didn't know Trevor was afraid of the water," Virgil commented. "He seemed fine in the pool."

"It's just the ocean that he's scared of," Lindsey said. "Neither he or Mitchell will tell me what happened, but there was some sort of an accident at the beach just after we moved to California. Trevor was involved and was pretty banged up. Ever since then, he's been afraid to swim in the ocean."

"Well, let's not make him feel self-conscious by standing here staring at him," John suggested. "Alan, Gordy, why don't you two collect some firewood. Linds, help me get the blankets spread out. Virgil, you set up a fire pit area."

"Hey! Wait a minute," Virgil protested. "I'm the oldest right now. Why are you giving the orders?"

"Maybe it's because we all saw the look on your face," Lindsey replied.

"What look?"

Lindsey rolled her eyes. "The . . . Oh man this setting could make a beautiful painting, did I bring my sketch pad with me, look."

Virgil opened his mouth to deny it, only to have Gordon beat him to it. "You know she's right Virg. Why fight it."

"Oh fine then." Virgil headed off towards some rocks to start looking for ones big enough to form the fire pit. Gordon and Alan headed off towards the jungle.

"John, can I ask you a question?" Lindsey wondered as she and John laid out the blankets and towels.

"Sure. What's up?"

Lindsey hesitated for a moment. "What's the deal with Alan and Tin-Tin? Is there something between them?"

John frowned. "I really think that's a question you should be asking him."

"I'm afraid to. Since we've arrived, it seems like every time the two of them cross paths, I'm in the vicinity. I could feel the tension there."

"Well. It's not really my place to say, but the two of them are sort of together. They're just going through a rough patch at the moment. Growing pains, I'd say."

"Earlier this morning, I was in the kitchen with Tin-Tin when Alan joined us. Tin-Tin got a phone call from some guy named Eddie. She was flirting pretty heavily with him, right in front of Alan."

Lindsey did not miss the dark scowl that crossed John's features. _'So, there is something going on here and not only is Alan not happy about it, big brothers aren't either.'_ "Alan stormed out of the room. I haven't seen him that mad in a long time."

John turned to Lindsey to respond and noticed the others starting to head their way. "Look, Linds. Just drop it okay. This is between Alan and Tin-Tin."

"Okay. Okay. I'll leave it alone." Lindsey turned away and watched everyone coming over. _'But if there is something between them and Tin-Tin's playing with his feelings, I'm about to become her worst enemy,'_ she thought to herself.

TBTBTBTBTB

Back at Tracy villa, Tin-Tin sought out Grandma, who had retired to her "Projects Room." It used to be a sitting room with just a few recliners and a stereo where anyone could go when they needed some time alone. But as it was hardly used, Jeff transformed it into a room for his mother where she could go to sew or work on any other projects she had going. Tin-Tin and Grandma could frequently be found in here and never had to worry about the boys messing things up. They avoided this room because it was "too girly" as Gordon called it.

"Grandma?" Tin-Tin called out hesitantly.

"Come in dear," invited Josephine Tracy. She smiled at the young woman as she came in. "Can I help you with something?"

"Grandma, can I talk to you for a few minutes? I could really use some advice from another woman."

Josie laughed. "Of course you can Tin-Tin. I want you to always feel like you can come and talk to me. I know how hard it must be for you being the only young woman on this island with all the boys."

Tin-Tin smiled. "I don't mind that so much, Grandma. Lady Penelope has a pretty good grasp on when I need to get away and invites me to spend time with her."

Grandma continued to sew, but she glanced at Tin-Tin and could see her nervousness. "So what is it my grandson has done this time?"

Tin-Tin was startled by the perceptiveness of Mrs. Tracy. "What makes you think one of them has done something?"

"Come now, dear. The air between Alan and you has been thick with tension lately. Everyone on this island has noticed it. Now I want you to sit right there and tell me exactly what is going on."

"Well," Tin-Tin sighed. Then, without hesitation, she went into the whole story. "It has to do with my relationship with Alan and with Eddie Houseman."

"I thought you were through with that Eddie person," Grandma replied.

"I thought so to, Grandma. Let me try and explain. I met Eddie while I was in college and he was wonderful. He was studying engineering as well and we ended up as study partners enough times that we started to realize that we had a lot in common. And it felt good to be able to spend time with a man who didn't know every little thing about me," Tin-Tin explained. She got up and started to pace around the room.

"I mean, I've lived with the Tracy boys since I was ten. They are more like brothers to me than anything else. Sure I find each of them attractive and wondered what it would be like to be their girlfriend, instead of a sister figure."

Grandma chuckled. "You would hardly be human if you didn't, dear. Those grandsons of mine do know how to turn the ladies eye."

"That they do," agreed Tin-Tin. "Which is probably why I found Eddie so endearing when I first met him. He was someone I didn't know so well and could spend time with him to find those things out. We dated almost the entire time I was in college."

"So what happened between you two?" Grandma wondered.

"Eddie had an offer from a friend of his father's to work in his construction business. He wanted to bring Eddie on board because he was young and had fresh, new ideas. Eddie asked me to come with him, but I couldn't. I had an obligation to Mr. Tracy. I mean, he paid for me to be able to go to college, something I never would have been able to afford to do."

"Tin-Tin!" exclaimed Grandma Tracy. "My son never would have held you to any obligation for that. And if he tried, I would have given him what for. Jeff paid for your college education because he recognized your knack for engineering. His thought was that you would be an excellent addition to International Rescue, but he would _never_ hold you to it if you had decided to go somewhere else."

"I know. But at the time, I really wanted to be part of his dream for International Rescue. Plus, I really did not want to leave my father." Tin-Tin paused and sat down. "So, I told Eddie I couldn't come with him. He wasn't very happy about it. He never really said goodbye to me, he just disappeared after graduation. I got a letter from time to time, but never really heard anything from him."

"So his leaving you like that when he visited the island wasn't the first time, then," Grandma Tracy said.

Tin-Tin shook her head. "No. I guess I thought that this last time though, it would be different. Oh, I know he left because of an emergency with his business, but he could have at least said _something._"

"So what changed then, Tin-Tin?"

Tin-Tin blushed. "I guess you could say it was Alan. He changed so much while he was away at college. Then coming home and taking on his duties for IR. I don't know. I just started seeing him in a different light."

"I think we all know how you both feel about each other, dear. What we don't understand is what happened to change all that? You two have hardly said any civil words to each other since Eddie came here."

"I know, Mrs. Tracy. It's all my fault. I've been so mad at Eddie for what he did to me that I keep taking my anger out on Alan. What's worse is I don't know why I'm doing it!"

Grandma gave Tin-Tin a long look. "Do you love Alan?"

Tin-Tin appeared shocked at the abruptness of the question. "Don't give me that look," Grandma admonished. "If you can answer that question and make sure it is an honest answer to yourself, then the rest of your problems and the solution on how to solve them should fall into place."

Grandma was worried for a brief second at Tin-Tin's crestfallen expression. "That, Grandma, is the one question I can't give myself an honest answer to."

"Well then. I would suggest you try and find out the answer, and that may mean spending some time having a serious chat with my grandson. I will tell you this Tin-Tin. Don't push him away too many times or one of these days he won't try and come back." Grandma turned and left, leaving Tin-Tin to sort out her thoughts.

TBTBTBTBTB

The day had moved much faster than any of the Tracy or Simpson's realized. Scott noticed only because he had looked at his watch when it unexpectedly vibrated. Knowing it was most likely Brains trying to call him, Scott made to move away from the group.

"Hey gang! I just realized how late it's getting. We need to start packing it in if we expect to be home in time for dinner."

"Darn!" Lindsey exclaimed. She had somehow managed to snuggle herself up close to Alan while the two chatted away. "I was hoping we could stay and build a bonfire."

Scott managed to catch Virgil's eye and unobtrusively pointed to his watch. Virgil nodded his understanding. "We can build another one at the beach near the house, Lindsey," Virgil told her.

"You guys start packing things up. I've gotta make a pit stop before we leave," Scott told everyone as he moved off towards the jungle.

"You just went, Scott! Too much soda?" Gordon teased. Scott didn't reply, just hurried out of sight. Gordon frowned and turned back towards his brothers. Virgil managed to relay a message to his brothers through gesturing that Scott went off on his own because the comlink in his watch vibrated.

Scott managed to work his way back a few hundred yards away from the group on the beach. He could see them, and was fairly confident that they couldn't see or hear him. He quickly activated his com-link. "Scott to Thunderbird Five, come in Brains."

"Thunderbird Fi . . .Fi. . .Five here, Scott," Brains face appeared on Scott's watch face. "I'm gla . . . glad you were able to ca . . . ca . . . get back to me right away."

"I've gotta make it fast Brains. What's up?"

"Nothing urgent. I tri. . .tried to call your dad but he never . . re . . rep . . . answered. This is just a wa . . wa . . heads up. There's a category three hurricane heading towards Fl . . .Florida and the Ke . . keys. It looks to hit in about 12 hours."

Scott frowned. "Okay Brains. We're all out at the cove but we're heading back. I'll get dad aside and let him know. If things change fast, why don't you try reaching Tin-Tin on her comlink. She's not with us and can head down to the hangars if need be to get all the details from you."

"Oka . . .okay, Sco . . .Scott. Thunderbird Five ou . . out."

Scott quickly switched the frequency on his watch and tried raising Tin-Tin. "Come in Tin-Tin."

"_I'm here Scott,"_ her voice came through.

"Tin-Tin! I've got to make this fast. Do you know where Dad is?"

"I believe Mr. Tracy and Mr. Simpson are in the office looking at some documents."

"Damn!" Scott cursed softly. "Tin-Tin, listen up. Brains just called me from Five. There's a category three hurricane heading for Florida and the Keys. He tried to raise dad but got no response and I guess that's why. We're all getting ready to head back so I can't take too long. Can you get down to the hangars and call Brains and get as much information as you can? We need to figure out what to do and fast. I'm sure International Rescue will get called out as soon as the hurricane hits."

"_Should I take the information to your father then?"_

Shaking his head, Scott replied, "No. The Simpson's will probably all head to the guest house to get cleaned up for dinner, the same time we will. Just be on the standby when he comes in. As soon as the Simpson's are out of sight, we can go in and let dad know what's up."

"_Okay Scott. I will be ready."_

Scott quickly signed off and ran down to join his brothers and their friends. They had everything all packed up into one raft and were ready for the swim back to the yacht. "Everyone ready!"

Mitchell, with Scott's help, managed to relay to Trevor that with the tide going out, the swim to the yacht wouldn't be very strenuous. Trevor gamely agreed to swim out with everyone instead of them all going back in groups. So all eight jumped into the surf.

Even though Gordon was pulling the raft he quickly moved ahead of the others. John, Virgil and Mitchell were slightly behind and off to the sides. Scott and Trevor were trailing directly behind the raft and Alan and Lindsey were bringing up the rear. Just as the group started to swim over the breakwater, Trevor panicked when he felt something wrap around his leg. What no one realized was that one of the tow ropes from the other raft had been trailing behind the one Gordon was pulling and Trevor had unknowingly swam up into it and gotten tangled.

Scott and Alan both swam over immediately and tried to calm Trevor down. Scott grabbed him from behind and began pulling him towards the yacht. Alan, trying to make sure Trevor's flailing arms and legs did not hit any coral didn't see when Trevor lashed out his leg and caught Alan right on the side of the head. Alan only felt the push on one side and then the slam of his head against the rocks on the other. He heard Lindsey's cry of alarm, then nothing else as he lost consciousness and slipped beneath the water.

"ALAN!" Lindsey screamed out and thrust herself through the water, grabbing hold of Alan's arm just as he slipped beneath the waves. John and Virgil turned around and rapidly swam over, seeing that Scott was still trying to keep a hold of the struggling Trevor and Lindsey was now struggling to keep Alan's head above the water.

Gordon likewise heard the scream and turned around, rapidly swimming to his brother's side.

"Alan!" Virgil cried out. He quickly checked his little brother over.

"How is he?" Gordon cried out.

Trevor finally calmed down enough to realize what had happened and stopped struggling. Scott let him go as Mitchell swam over and grabbed his brother. "You two head to the boat and be ready to help us get Alan onboard!" yelled Scott.

"Help me get him on the raft," Virgil commanded. With his brother's help, they managed to get the unconscious Alan onto the raft. Virgil heaved himself up to continue to check his brother over.

"Come on guys," John grabbed hold of the tow line and together with Gordon and Scott, the three of them pulled the raft over to the yacht. Trevor and Mitchell were waiting and they quickly got Alan on board and secured on one of the benches.

"How is he Virgil?" Scott demanded. He frowned at the size of the lump forming on Alan's temple and was worried that his brother was unconscious. He handed Virgil the first-aid kit that Mitchell had found and had at the ready.

"He definitely has a concussion and the cut on his head. It doesn't look too deep though."

"Did he hit it on any coral?" John winced as he watched Virgil smooth Alan's hair away from the cut so he could clean it.

"It didn't look like it to me," Lindsey spoke up. She was shaking, not necessarily from being cold. "I'm pretty sure it was just rock."

Virgil glanced at her briefly and frowned as he noticed her shaking. "John, get her a blanket."

John wrapped a blanket around Lindsey as Mitchell walked over and hugged his sister.

"Gordon, get up and start heading us towards home," Scott ordered. "I'll be up there in a sec. John, stay with Virgil and help keep Alan as steady as you can. I'll call Dad and let him know what happened. He can have a stretcher ready when we arrive."

"I'm so sorry!" Trevor finally cried out. "It's all my fault. I didn't mean to hurt him, honest!"

Scott stood up and placed his hands on Trevor's shoulders. "It's okay, Trevor. We know it was an accident. Alan is going to be okay."

"I'll stay with him Scott," John offered. "You better get up with Gordon and let Dad know." Scott nodded and headed up towards the wheel house. John could see him using his watch to contact his father and knew he would be anxiously waiting dockside for his sons to return.

TBTBTBTBTB


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

_Well, I'm not getting any feedback on this story so I'm guessing folks don't like it. Soooo, it is no longer being beta'd and I'm finishing this story solely for the purpose of getting the idea out of my head and for my own pleasure. So please do not complain about the spelling, grammar or punctuation._

Jeff Tracy paced the deck in front of the boathouse, anxiously keeping an eye on the open water for the yacht. His mind continually replayed the call he got from Scott.

_Flashback to Jeff's office_

"Well, it certainly looks like a solid venture to me, Jeff," Greg stated as he leaned back in his chair.

Jeff was about to reply when he felt his watch vibrate for the second time in 30 minutes. He frowned, wondering if it was Brains and if he should excuse himself to answer it. It vibrated again and Jeff finally looked down at the watch face.

"Something wrong?" Greg wondered.

Jeff shot him a look. "I'm not sure."

Greg grinned. He could hear the watch vibrating the first time as Jeff had his wrist laying on the table. "Maybe you should just answer that page, and then later you can explain how you managed to build a pager watch!"

Jeff shot his friend a look and then only nodded. "This is Jeff."

"_DAD!" came Scott's frantic response. "Thank God you finally answered."_

"What's wrong, Scott?" Jeff felt a knot form in his stomach. Scott was not one known for panicking and Jeff knew it had to be serious for him to be this worked up.

"_Dad, we had an accident. Alan's hurt. We're on our way back at full speed right now. We should be there in about 10 minutes."_

Greg grew alarmed as he watched Jeff's face turn pale. He reached over and gripped Jeff's shoulder.

"What happened, Scott? How bad is it?" a worried Jeff responded.

"_I'm not completely sure Dad. We were swimming back to the yacht and Trevor freaked out. Alan tried to restrain him and Trevor kicked him and pushed him into the rocks. Alan's hit his head pretty hard. Virgil thinks he has a concussion and he's got a nasty cut along his temple. We're not sure whether or not he hit his head on any coral reef."_

Tin-Tin walked into the office just as Scott started to explain and gasped. Jeff motioned her over.

"Okay, Scott. Just concentrate on getting back here fast. I'll meet you at the dock with an anti-grav stretcher."

"_Okay Dad. Be there in a few."_

Both Scott and Jeff signed off. "Tin-Tin. Run down to the infirmary and get the diagnostic bed ready. Virgil will need to run a scan right away to check out Alan. We'll get the stretcher and meet the boat at the docks."

"Yes, Mr. Tracy," Tin-Tin nodded and ran off. She had come in to try and get Jeff's attention to speak to him about her conversation with Brains. The hurricane that he told Scott about was getting bigger and moving faster than originally thought. International Rescue would be getting called out, or at least called to be put on standby very soon. She only hoped Alan's injuries weren't as severe as they sounded.

Grandma Tracy came in just as Tin-Tin ran out. "What did you say to that poor girl now, Jefferson!" she demanded.

"Mother!" Jeff walked over to her. "Scott just called in. There's been an accident and Alan is hurt."

"Oh dear!" Josie exclaimed. "Do we know what happened?"

"Not all the details mom. We've got to go and meet the boys at the dock. Why don't you go down and help Tin-Tin get the infirmary set up. Let Kyrano know, okay?"

"Of course, Jeff. You go and get my grandson back here."

Jeff and Greg ran down to the infirmary, grabbed the anti-grav stretcher and a first aid kit. They both were now waiting dockside for their children to arrive.

Greg watched Jeff pace, getting more and more anxious about the condition of his youngest child.

"I'm sorry this happened, Jeff."

Jeff paused and shot his friend a puzzled look. "It's not your fault, Greg. Sounds like nothing more than an accident."

Greg shook his head. "I should have warned Mitchell to let at least Scott know about Trevor's fear of open water."

"Knowing our children, Greg, I'm sure Mitchell managed to find some way of warning Scott. I know where they were going to spend the day and there's no way to get to the beach without swimming. No way to get a yacht in close enough. If Trevor had a problem going in, they would have been back a long time ago."

Greg sighed. "Can't fault your reasoning there, Jeff. I just hope Alan isn't hurt too badly."

"Me too. Me . . ." Jeff broke off when he saw the yacht come into view.

TBTBTBTBTB

Scott sighed in relief when he saw the docks come into view and the sight of his father pacing. Alan had not regained consciousness, although he was responding to stimuli if Virgil rubbed a knuckle on his chest. Alan moaned, but did not wake up. Scott glanced down to where John and Virgil were keeping Alan from falling off the bench. Mitchell and Lindsey were on the other side of the yacht, sitting on either side of Trevor who appeared to still be upset over what happened. Scott turned his attention back to the boat when he heard the sound of the engines powering down.

"Okay Gordon. Let's get this docked as fast as we can," Scott ordered. "Bring her in and I'll tie her off."

Gordon gestured towards the dock. "Looks like Mr. Simpson is ready to help, Scott."

"Good. Dad is going to be focused on Alan so it'll help us get him off that much faster." Scott quickly looked around and saw John and Virgil getting Alan ready for transport. "Gordie, let's just get the boat docked. We can put it away later."

Gordon only nodded as he focused on getting the yacht docked. Scott climbed down the ladder and gathered up the tie lines in the bow to toss them to Greg Simpson. He knew Gordon would use the engines to keep the stern up against the dock as everyone got Alan off.

Jeff was perched at the end of the dock and as soon as the yacht brushed up against its side, he jumped on board and ran over to where Alan was laying.

"How is he Virgil?" Jeff kneeled down next to his son and grabbed his hand. He brushed a hand lightly through Alan's hair, brushing it away from the cut on his temple so he could see the wound himself.

Virgil grabbed the med kit that Greg Simpson had brought on board. "I'm not sure yet, Dad."

Mitchell got up and moved to help Scott position the stretcher. Greg walked over to his other children and sat down next to Trevor.

"Are you okay, son?"

Trevor turned pain-stricken eyes to his father. "I didn't mean to do it Dad. I swear."

Greg pulled his son to him in a hug and rubbed his back reassuringly. "I know, son. Don't worry. Alan will be fine."

"Come on, Mitch" Scott commanded. "We're the tallest. It'll be easier for them to pass the stretcher over the railing to us." The two eldest brothers climbed over the side.

Virgil, John and Jeff began to pick up the stretcher with Alan. Lindsey jumped up to help balance out the side and the group got Alan off the boat and onto the dock. Scott and Mitch carefully set the stretcher down to wait for everyone else to climb off the boat. A moan from Alan caught Scott's attention.

"Alan?" he crouched down by his brother. "Alan, can you hear me?"

Virgil crouched down on the other side. "Is he waking up?"

Scott nodded. "I think so. He moaned when we put the stretcher down."

Virgil immediately grabbed a penlight and pried open one of Alan's eyes to check his pupils. As soon as the light hit Alan's eye, he screwed his eye shut and moaned again.

"Alan? Can you open your eyes for me?" Virgil asked. "Come on Sprout. I need you to open your eyes."

Alan only moaned again, but this time it sounded like he said 'no'.

Jeff kneeled down next to Scott. "Alan. Come on son. It's time to wake up. Can you do that for me?"

He was rewarded with a weak "Dad?" from his son.

"That's it, Alan," encouraged Jeff. "Come back to us. Can you open your eyes?"

The group was finally relieved to see Alan pry his eyes open. Virgil leaned over to look closely into his eyes, frowning in concern at the glazed, unfocused look. "Alan. Look at me."

Alan attempted to focus on the sound of Virgil's voice. All he could see was dark shadows hovering over him, but he somehow knew it was his family. He closed his eyes again.

"No, Alan! Wake up." Virgil insisted.

"No," came a weak reply. "Too bright."

Virgil nodded. "Let's get him to the med bay, Dad. He's right. The sun is shining right into his eyes."

The Tracy brothers gathered around the stretcher; picked it up and swiftly carried his brother into the infirmary. They were oblivious to the Simpson family following behind them.

Upon arriving at the well-stocked med bay, Virgil immediately got Alan situated on the diagnostic bed, which started projecting readings immediately, thanks to Tin-Tin having it up and running and ready to go. Virgil shot her a quick smile.

Tin-Tin smiled back and moved to stand near Alan. Just a she approached the side of the bed Lindsey scooted in front of her and took hold of Alan's hand. She was oblivious to the jealous glare that Tin-Tin shot her.

Everyone waited anxiously as Virgil watched the diagnostics running. Jeff felt the knot in his stomach being to loosen when Virgil sighed deeply and nodded.

"How is he Virgil?" Jeff asked.

"He definitely has a concussion, but it's not severe. I'm also not reading any traces of toxins so it doesn't look like he hit his head on any coral. I'll have to monitor the wound though to keep an eye open for infection."

"It wasn't coral," a weak voice responded.

Jeff leaned over his son. "Alan?"

"Dad?"

"Alan, can you open your eyes and look at me?" Virgil instructed. He frowned when Alan slowly shook his head no. "Come on, Alan. I need to check your pupils."

Everyone stepped back and John grabbed a wastebasket when they saw Alan swallowing and his face turn very pale. Virgil and Scott quickly rolled Alan to the side just as he started vomiting.

"Oh yeah," quipped Gordon. "Definitely a concussion."

Jeff frowned at Gordon, but turned his attention back to his youngest son as Virgil rolled him back on the bed. Gordon handed his father a wet washcloth. Jeff used it to wipe down Alan's face. "Feeling better, son?"

"No," Alan's voice was raspy and weak.

Virgil poured a glass of water and held it in front of him. "Dad, help me sit him up so he can drink some water."

Jeff moved behind Alan and slowly lift his son up and slid behind him. Alan leaned back against his father as Virgil held the glass for him. "Small sips, Alan. You don't want to get sick again."

Jeff rubbed his back as Alan slowly sipped the water. Nodding that he had enough, Virgil took the glass away. "Are you feeling dizzy, Alan?"

Alan blinked to focus his eyes on Virgil and his question. "No. My head just hurts really bad and the pain made me sick."

"Okay, Sprout. Let's get you laying back down." Virgil and Jeff got Alan back down and comfortably settled in the bed. Virgil looked at his father. "I think it would be safe to give him a light sedative to help him sleep. It's the best thing to get rid of the headache right now."

"Go ahead, son. But I want you to keep a close eye on him."

"I can sit with him for a while, Mr. Tracy," Lindsey volunteered. Virgil turned to answer her, and managed to catch the sneer that Tin-Tin gave Lindsey, before turning on her heel and storming out of the med bay. "It's okay Lindsey. I need to monitor his vitals and keep an eye on that cut. I don't think it'll need stitches, but I want to watch it just the same."

Jeff gently brushed his hand through his youngest son's hair and kissed his forehead. "I'll be back shortly, son." He turned to face everyone in the room. "Okay folks. Let's let him get some rest. I want all you kids to go to your rooms and get cleaned up. It'll be time for dinner shortly."

Scott caught his father's eye and mouthed the word 'office'. Jeff nodded. Scott then left to catch up with Tin-Tin. He saw her heading towards the corridor that would lead to the Kyrano's living quarters. "Tin-Tin!"

Still mad over what Lindsey did, Tin-Tin turned quickly, her face still showing her anger. "What!"

Scott pulled back a bit. "Whoa! What's up with you?"

Tin-Tin sighed. "I'm sorry Scott. I'm just worried about Alan. Did you need something?"

Scott smiled and lightly gripped Tin-Tin's upper arm. "He'll be fine, honey. You know he has a hard head." Tin-Tin smiled at that. "Listen, did you get a chance to speak with Brains?"

"Yes. I was just getting ready to try and speak to your father when you called in."

"Okay. Listen. I'm going to grab a quick shower and then go talk to dad. I managed to let him know I needed to speak with him so he'll find a way to keep the office empty. Can you meet me there in about 10 minutes so we can tell him?"

"Of course, Scott. I'll be there."

"Good girl. See you in ten!" Scott turned and quickly ran up to the main house and his bedroom. He was worried about Alan, but knew he and Tin-Tin needed to inform their father of the pending need for International Rescue's services.

TBTBTBTBTB


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

I'm warning those of you who don't like the movie version that Fermat is making an appearance once again in this chapter. But he won't be in it for long as he's still stuck up in Thunderbird Five with his dad.

_Well a very big thank you to those of you who reviewed on the last chapter and let me know you are loving the story so far. Please excuse my insecurities. I've got just about 30 days left to find another job before my layoff takes effect and I really hate how slow Texans move when it comes to filling job positions. But I do have a pretty good line on two positions that I would really like to get an offer on. Both require a higher security clearance than what I've got right now so I have to wait for the DoD to process it successfully before a permanent offer can be made for either one. Oh the joys of the US Government._

In exactly ten minutes, Scott strode quickly into his father's office. Seeing Tin-Tin had walked in just before him, Scott took a quick glance around. Not seeing anyone else except for his father, he shut the door behind him.

"Is it safe to talk or are we likely to get interrupted?" Scott asked.

"Greg took his kids to the guest house to get cleaned up. He said he wanted them to stay there a bit and calm Trevor down. He's really shook up over what happened and blames himself."

"It was an accident, Dad. I tried telling him that; everyone did. I think he was just too upset to hear us."

Jeff nodded. "Greg didn't tell me why he freaked out like that, but I suspect it's due to some trauma suffered while in the water. But for now, I take it something regarding International Rescue is on the radar?" Jeff inquired.

Scott nodded. "Brains contacted me just before we left the beach area to head back. He wanted to warn us that there is a category three hurricane headed for Florida and the keys. I called Tin-Tin and asked her to head down to the hangers and get more information."

"Did you find out anything new, Tin-Tin?" Jeff asked her.

Tin-Tin nodded and walked over to one of the computers and pulled up a satellite display of the Gulf of Mexico. "Brains has been monitoring the warnings from the National Hurricane Center and NOAA. They are predicting that Hurricane . . . uhm, Lindsay is expected to strengthen as it gets closer to the mainland." She pointed to the monitor. "Lindsay is predicted to move between Cuba and the Yucatan and then into the Gulf of Mexico. Once there, she'll turn north and is expected to hit the southern part of Florida and the keys."

"Hurricane Lindsay! Oh that's going to go over well," joked Scott.

"Seems appropriate to me," Tin-Tin muttered softly.

"Did you add something else Tin-Tin?" Jeff asked. He hadn't overheard her comment, but Scott did and looked at her puzzled.

"Oh, no Mr. Tracy. Just muttering to myself."

Jeff took a moment to study the latest projections of the rapidly growing storm. "Tin-Tin, did Brains have any projections on when it might make landfall? Looking at this, it could be sometime late tomorrow afternoon or early evening."

"The current projections were actually after midnight tomorrow night. However, the storm has increased in size and speed since then. Brains was going to wait until the next update which was due to come at 1900 Eastern Time."

Jeff and Scott both looked at their watches, quickly calculated the time differences and frowned. "That gives us about 1 more hour until an update."

"Dad. If that storm does get up to a Cat 4, you know we're going to get a call out. There's no way Alan will be able to go out tomorrow." Scott stated.

Jeff sat down at his desk and looked at the monitor for several long minutes. He was about to speak when the chimes of an incoming call from Thunderbird Five sounded off. "Come in Brains. What's up?"

Fermat's face appeared on the screen. "My d . . dad is on another line with Ca . . Cape Canaveral, Mr. Tracy. They called in a few mo . . minutes ago. He asked me to get you on the line."

"What's going on Fermat?" Scott leaned over his father's shoulder to look at the youngest member of their team. Scott had almost forgotten that Fermat had gone up to Five with his dad. The fact that Fermat was stuttering again probably meant he and his father were busy trying to keep up with a situation.

"The Hurricane Center has sent out a new u . . up . . . notice on the storm ahead of schedule."

"What does the warning say, son?" Jeff was poised with a pen ready to take down the details.

"They are warning that the outer bands of Hurricane Lindsey are now expected to hit the Florida Keys by 7PM tomorrow night and all residents are under a mandatory evacuation. Southbound Traffic on Highway 95 has been closed off and all lanes are open for evacuation." Jeff nodded as he wrote the information down. Scott and Tin-Tin smiled as they saw that Fermat's stutter was all but gone as he relayed the information.

"The Coast Guard and State Police are also getting people from the outer keys to the local airports and airlifting them off the islands to help keep Highway 1 from getting overly congested."

"Fermat, how far north are they telling people to evacuate to?" Tin-Tin wanted to know.

Fermat looked down at the paper. "Right now, they are telling everyone to try and get completely out of the state, if they can. If not, once they get to Orlando, they want people to head East towards Jacksonville. I think they are hoping that the hurricane will stay south of Central Orlando and will weaken as it goes over the state."

"That doesn't give them a lot of time," Jeff pondered.

At that moment, Brains came back online. "Mr. Tracy, we have a re . . .request from the C . . .Cape."

"What is it Brains?"

"They have a shu . . .shuttle on the launchpad that was due to la . . la . . .go up in a few days. They won't be able to ge . . .ge . . . move it back to the hangar before the hu . . storm hits. They want to do an emerg . . .emergency launch now and send it to the sp . . .space station. However, the sh . . shuttle isn't completely fu . . .fueled up yet and she won't make it un . . . un . . .on her own power."

Jeff blew out a breath. "I take it they are asking us for a tow?"

"Yes, M . . . Mr. Tracy. We can add the fu . . fuel that the sh . . .shuttle uses into Thunderbird Three and re . .refuel her at the sp . . . space station."

"Dad," Scott spoke up with a worried tone. "That kind of precision flying would be tough. I don't know if John has enough time with Three to be able to do it and with Alan having a concussion, I'm not confident enough with Three to try that."

"Alan's hurt?" Fermat cried out.

"He's okay Fermat," Jeff reassured him. "Just a little accident while everyone was out swimming. He'll be back to his normal self by the time you and Brains come back down."

"So, what should I te . . .tell them, Mr. Tracy?"

"Tell them we'll help them out Brains. It may have been quite a while ago, but I think I can manage to pilot Thunderbird Three. John can be my co-pilot. Find out when they want to launch and then check to see how far out they'll get before they lose fuel. Also Brains, I want you and Fermat to try and monitor how well the evacuation is going. Specifically, we'll need to know if there are any pockets of areas where people are not going to leave. I would go ahead and call FEMA and Florida's Emergency Management Center and let them know we're monitoring the situation and are ready to help. Scott, go down to Thunderbird Three and get her ready for launch."

"Dad. What about the Simpson's?"

"Tin-Tin, can you go to the guest house and ask them to come and see me. I'm just going to have to tell them. If this was a simple rescue, we might be able to get away with launching Two without them noticing."

Scott nodded. "But there's no way we can launch Three without them not seeing it. Do you want me to get the guys in here as well?"

"Gordon and John definitely. If Virgil feels Alan can be left alone, then he can come to. You can join us as soon as you get Three prepped."

"Okay, Dad." Scott left and Jeff sat at his desk, facing the doorway, wondering if he was about to make a big mistake.

TBTBTBTBTB

Scott quietly walked into the med-bay and approached his brothers, who were sitting on chairs in one corner of the room. Alan had been moved to one of the beds and was sleeping peacefully. "How's he doing?"

"He'll be alright, Scott," Virgil assured the eldest brother. "The headache had already started to ease up by the time he fell asleep."

"That's good." Scott walked over and looked down at his baby brother. He smiled fondly at him and rubbed one hand lightly across Alan's shoulder. He then walked back over to his brothers.

"Scott, what's going on?" Gordon asked. "Virgil gave us a signal that Brains had contacted you."

Scott nodded. "Yeah. There's a Cat Three hurricane headed into the Gulf and is expected to hit the Florida Keys sometime tomorrow. It's also expected to increase in size and hit as a Cat Four. As of right now, we're officially on standby. But that's not all."

"Oh great. What more could we ask for?" Virgil replied sarcastically.

"How about a shuttle sitting on the launch pad and not enough time to get it out of harms way so Cape Canaveral wants to do an emergency launch and send it up to the International Space Station."

"You're kidding!" John exclaimed. The others shushed him and they all checked on Alan to make sure he was still sleeping.

"No. I'm not kidding," Scott told his brothers. "The shuttle has enough fuel onboard to launch, but not enough to make it to the Space Station. There isn't enough time for them to fuel up completely before conditions deteriorate and they won't be able to launch. NASA has asked us to give the shuttle a piggyback ride to the Space Station with Thunderbird Three."

John paled slightly. "Uhm, Scott. I don't know if I could handle that. I don't have enough flight time with Three and with Alan layed up . . ."

Scott smiled at his brother and patted him on the shoulder. "We know. That's why you're going to be Dad's co-pilot on Thunderbird Three."

"DAD is going to fly her?" Scott only nodded.

"Uhm, Scott? What about the Simpson's?" Virgil asked the obvious.

Scott shook his head slightly. "This is like déjà vu. I just asked Dad the same question. He's going to tell them now and would like you two, John and Gordon, to be in the office when he does. Virgil, you can go if you think Alan is going to stay asleep. I'm going down to prep Three for launch."

Virgil quickly checked Alan over and saw that he was sound asleep. "I'm going with you guys. He'll sleep for a few hours, at least. I have a feeling Dad is going to need more support right now than Alan needs."

The brothers parted at the door with three headed up towards the main part of the house. Scott headed towards the tunnel that would take him to Three's hangar.

Virgil, Gordon and John were just about ready to walk into the house when Tin-Tin came through the door. "Oh. The Simpson's are in the office now with your Father."

"Aren't you staying, Tin?" Gordon wondered.

"No. I'll go sit with Alan while you all are in the meeting. It is family business." She turned to walk around them when John gently grabbed her upper arm.

"Tin-Tin, YOU'RE part of this family too you know. You deserve to be in that meeting as well," he told her.

Tin-Tin smiled at the brothers. "Thank you, John, but not this time." She gently pulled her arm away and went to sit with Alan. The brothers shared a puzzled look, but then headed towards the office."

TBTBTBTBTB

" . . .so I called you all here to discuss a very important matter," the boys could hear Jeff speaking as they approached the office. They walked in as Jeff finished speaking.

"Come in boys," Jeff instructed.

"Okay Jeff. What is the big mystery?" Greg asked after John, Virgil and Gordon all moved over to stand near a wall that held their portraits.

Jeff looked over to his sons. They all gave him a slight nod. "Greg. Do you remember earlier when we were joking around and you said you would love the opportunity to pitch a proposal to International Rescue to get in on their business?"

"Of course I do! What?" Greg laughed. "Are you about to tell me that you have a way to get in touch with them?"

"You could say that." Jeff was very serious at this point and Greg knew his friend wasn't fooling around.

Sharing a quick look with his own three children, Greg pressed on. "Jeff, we've known each other for too long to play games with each other. So for the sake of expediency, why don't you just cut to the chase."

Jeff only nodded and reached for something under his desk. The Simpson's could see a plate slide out and recognized it as a fingerprint identification system. "Switching to Command and Control," Jeff announced, placing his hand on the plate.

The Simpson's watched in awe as Jeff's simple office transformed into a complex computer room with multiple monitors appearing and various control systems. But what shocked them the most was watching the portraits of the Tracy brothers transform from the pictures Virgil painted, to pictures of the boys wearing very recognizable uniforms.

Mitchell was shaking his head. "No way. Absolutely no way!" was all he could say.

Trevor was staring at all the computer consoles while Greg was looking at Jeff in shock. Lindsey however, jumped up and ran over to the portraits and looked from them to each of the Tracy brothers standing next to their pictures.

"You guys are part of International Rescue!" she exclaimed.

Gordon sighed and rolled his eyes. "No. We ARE International Rescue."

Mitchell got up and joined his sister. "You mean it? You guys are the whole organization?"

"I really don't get why people seem to think that there are more than one team of International Rescue personnel," Virgil wondered.

Lindsey punched him on the arm. "Duh! We wonder that because there is no possible way you guys could get to the locations you do as fast as you do, at least from here."

"Well, you haven't seen the whole shebang yet to know how we can," Virgil grinned.

John glanced over at his father and Greg Simpson. The two were just sitting and staring at each other. Trevor, for his part had gotten up and was checking out each monitor.

"Uh, guys? We may have a problem here," John told the others. When they looked at him, he indicated to their fathers.

Mitchell saw the look on his father's face and knew he wasn't happy with what was revealed. "Uh oh," he whispered more to himself than anyone else. John however heard it.

'Something wrong Mitch?"

"Let's just say there is probably going to be some fireworks here. John, where is Scott? I may need him for backup," Mitchell said.

At that moment, Scott walked in and immediately focused in on his father and Greg Simpson. Mitchell caught his eye and sharing a look that only the two eldest sons would understand, Scott immediately knew trouble was brewing.

"John, Virgil, Gordon, why don't you take Trevor and Lindsey down to the hangars and show them the rest."

None of the kids tried to argue with Scott's orders. They just all walked out of the office leaving Scott and Mitchell and their fathers.

TBTBTBTBTB

_Okay. I'm trying to keep this story more along the lines of the tv series, but throwing in Fermat here and there. However, if there was one thing about the series that bugged me was how Jeff could monitor the rescues from his office with nothing more than a speakerphone and the portraits of the boys. So I made his office turn into more like the Command Center from the movie. Just a liberty I'm taking with the story._


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Jeff never took his eyes off Greg, but he could see Scott and Mitchell herding their younger siblings out of the office. He overheard the word hangar and knew that his boys would be taking Trevor and Lindsey down to see the Thunderbird machines. He sat patiently waiting on Greg.

Greg, for his part, sat staring at his long-time friend. He was torn between anger over Jeff keeping something like this a secret. Disbelief that Jeff _would_ keep something like this a secret, and finally astonishment that his friend and his family _were_ doing something like this. He finally decided he had to say something. He glanced quickly around the room and only saw Scott and Mitchell, anxiously waiting to see what was going to happen.

"So why didn't you tell me the truth last night?" Greg asked with a calm he didn't really feel.

"I had planned on telling you and the kids about it while you were here." Jeff shrugged his shoulders, stood up and walked around his desk. He sat on the edge, directly in front of Greg. "It's not exactly something you just kind of say 'Oh by the way' and throw it into a conversation."

Greg stood up and paced around the Command console, stopping occasionally to look at what was displayed on a computer screen. He finally stopped and turned back to his friend. "I gotta tell ya Jeff, I'm not really sure how to feel about this."

"Dad," Mitchell attempted to break in. Greg held up his hand at his son to stop him. He once again looked over to Jeff.

"What is there to feel Greg? You agreed with me last night when I said how harmful it could be for an enemy to get a hold of the Thunderbird technology."

"I know what I said," Greg stated emphatically. "I just didn't realize at the time that I was saying it to an IR person directly."

Scott finally stepped in. He could tell Jeff was trying to keep his temper under control and that Greg Simpson was just about to blow his. He didn't want that to happen as either man could end up saying something they didn't mean.

"Mr. Simpson. Can I ask you to answer just one question for us?"

Jeff gave his eldest son a puzzled expression, as did Mitchell. Greg just looked at him. "What is it, Scott?"

"Well. Dad didn't originally tell us who was coming to visit, but he did mention that he wanted to tell them about IR. I had quite a few doubts then but decided not to say anything to Dad about them until after I saw who the visitors were. When we realized it was you guys, I knew Dad was making the right decision. You've been Dad's friend practically your whole life. All of us kids have been friends as well. Please don't let something like this ruin it."

"Scott," Greg interrupted. "I'm not about to let that happen."

"Then why are you so upset over Dad giving you this news now?"

Greg went to respond and hesitated. He looked over at Mitchell, who along with Scott and Jeff, only looked at him expectantly. Greg sighed, sat back down in his chair and looked up to Jeff who hadn't moved from where he was sitting on the desk.

"I guess I'm just upset because this is something I would have enjoyed working on with all of you. Jeff, you aren't the only person who lost someone special. Linda may not have died the same way Lucy did, but I sometimes think of what might have happened to one of the kids if the rescue workers wouldn't have been able to get them out of the wreck. There was no IR, no Thunderbirds back then. We could have lost a whole lot more if the situation had been just a bit different. If it had, I would have had just as much drive and determination as you did to get this up and running."

Jeff glanced at Scott, who he saw pale slightly at remembering the accident. He watched as Mitchell reached over and grasped Scott's shoulder, knowing that the two of them, being the eldest, were both remembering a moment in time they would rather forget.

"I know that Greg. But to be honest, at the time it all came together I was so lost in my work with Tracy Enterprises and trying to get the Thunderbird machines built, that I became pretty self-absorbed."

Scott snorted. "That's an understatement."

Jeff frowned at his son, then continued on. "Greg, the need to keep this all a big secret has a lot more to it than just that I don't want it known that the Tracy family is really International Rescue. I told you last night that the technology behind the 'birds and all this," he gestured around his office, "is so advanced that we've already had some attempts to get a hold of it. We have a small network of agents that help us keep our secret, and only a few of them are trusted enough to know who we really are."

"Mr. Tracy?" Mitchell asked. "So why exactly did you decide to tell us about all this now? I mean, it came on kind of suddenly. I would have expected your agenda to be a bit more subtle than this."

Scott and Jeff chuckled. "You're right about that Mitch," agreed Jeff. "Fact of the matter is, we _had_ to tell you sooner rather than later."

Greg and Mitchell's interest was peaked. Greg suddenly remembered something. "Does this have something to do with your vibrating watch, Jeff?"

Jeff shot Scott an exasperated look, who for his part looked down guiltily. "Sort of, Greg. I'll explain that later, but yes. It does. There's a category three hurricane heading for Florida and the keys and will most likely increase to a cat four by the time it hits. It's almost a sure bet we're going to get a call out."

"When is it expected to hit?" Mitchell wondered.

"Sometime tomorrow afternoon," Scott told him. He beckoned Greg and Mitchell over and pointed to a screen. "This is a direct feed from the satellite on Thunderbird Five. We can keep an eye on it."

"What's Thunderbird Five?" Greg asked.

Jeff sat down at the main console and flicked a switch. "Our orbiting communications space station," he replied casually as he looked at some feedback coming in from the station.

"Orbiting space station!" exclaimed Mitchell. "Wait a minute. We know about Thunderbirds One, Two and Four. How many are there?"

Before either could answer, a chime signaling an incoming call from Five could be heard. Jeff answered it immediately. "Come in Thunderbird Five."

Fermat's face was seen on the screen. "Mr. Tracy, my dad is on with NASA again, he wanted me to tell you that . . .whoa!" he stopped when he saw Greg and Mitchell looking at him in awe.

Jeff smiled. "It's okay Fermat. These are two of our friends, Greg Simpson and his son Mitchell. We just told the Simpson's about International Rescue."

"Okay, Mr. Tracy. NASA told us that they will be launching at 1900 hours Eastern time. The weather is starting to be affected by Hurricane Lindsay and that's the first window they have open for launch."

"Okay Fermat. Get the coordinates for the rendevous and monitor the situation. I'm going to be flying with John on this one so you can brief me once we launch."

"Okay sir. Thunderbird Five out."

"Three's all ready for launching, Dad."

Jeff nodded and grinned at the astonished looks on Greg and Mitchell's faces. "Something wrong fella's?"

"Uhm . . .NASA?" Greg asked.

"Yep. They have a shuttle on the launch pad that they can't get back inside before the hurricane hits. So they are going to launch it, but it doesn't have enough fuel to make it to the space station. They asked us if we could tow it in for them. Thunderbird Three is Alan and John's bird but John doesn't have enough flight time with her to try the maneuvers to dock with the shuttle and Alan is down for the count. So I'm going to have to fly this mission."

Mitchell and Greg suddenly seem to realize the sheer size of what International Rescue was. Greg shook his head. "I never would have been able to help you set this up," he whispered.

"Why's that?" Jeff asked.

Greg thew his arms out and gestured to the entire room. "Come on, Jeff. Getting all this set up and running, and continuing to run. It must take millions, possibly even into billions of dollars. I may be well off, but we both know I'm not any where near as rich as you are."

Jeff jumped up from his chair. "Stop right there Greg!" he warned. "You and I have never, _ever_ allowed our financial status to come between us and I do not want that to happen now. Fact of the matter is, even though a lot of the technology we use was designed by Brains and the boys, many of the components were built by Tracy Industries. You know John Kellogg?"

Greg frowned. "Your personal accountant? Doesn't he work for Tracy Industries?"

"Yep. He's also one of the few that know about International Rescue. He helps me keep the books and also helps with utilizing Tracy Industries assets to fund IR. However, I've used a lot of my own personal funds to get it up and running."

"So is it an equal partnership between you and the boys?."

"Well . . ." Jeff replied hesitantly.

Scott and Mitchell had been talking silently off to the side, both keeping a close eye on their respective fathers for any signs that they may need some help. Both sighed in relief when it appeared that the long-standing family friendship was going to stay intact. Scott stepped forward to respond to Greg.

"Dad and I make most of the business decisions about IR, Mr. Simpson."

Jeff nodded. "Yep. It's our way of making sure that everything we do is best for the organization, and that we are also keeping our identity well hidden. But when it comes to the individual Thunderbirds and new equipment ideas, all the boys have a say in it."

"But the maintenance on the machines and replacement parts and such," Mitchell added. "Tracy Industries can't possibly be involved in all of that."

Jeff and Scott shared a smile and Scott nodded his encouragement to his father. "Well. The boys and Brains pretty much do all the repair work themselves. However, if we have parts that need to be replaced, that gets a bit more complicated."

Greg Simpson had been thinking frantically on how the Tracy family could manage to maintain these machines. As they say, the preverbial light bulb came on as he realized how and started to laugh. The others looked at him.

"What's so funny, Dad?"

Greg gave his son a one-armed hug. "Mitch, what would you say if I told you that your old man and Simpson Industries has been well and truly outmaneuvered by these guys."

"I'mmmm. . . not quite sure what you mean, dad."

Greg walked over to Scott and Jeff. He stopped directly in front of them, clasped his hands behind his back and casually rocked back and forth on his feet. "Correct me if I am wrong here, Jefferson Tracy. But it seems to me that in about the, oh I'd say last 2 to 3 years, Simpson Industries has been getting an awful lot of business from Tracy Industries on custom made parts and repairs."

Jeff grinned. "Yeah. So? Your company is one of the best and I know I can count on the work getting done right the first time."

Greg was nodding while Jeff had responded. "Uhm hm . . . Uhm hm . . . and that wouldn't happen to be because those parts are going into certain machines that need to be kept secret, would it?"

Jeff reached up and slightly patted Greg on the cheek. "And here people used to say you were slow." He slipped an arm around Greg's shoulders and directed him out of the office.

"Come on. Might as well show you the rest of the show and we'll have a chat later. You're lucky. Not too many people get to see Thunderbird Three up close and personal during a take off."

Scott grinned and also directed Mitchell out of the room, trailing slightly behind their fathers. As they were walking, Mitch whispered a question to Scott. "What exactly is Thunderbird Three?"

Scott shrugged. "Our rocket ship we use for space rescues and shuttle back and forth to Five." It was only Scott's arm around his shoulders that kept Mitchell moving forward.

TBTBTBTBTB

Virgil's excited voice carried through the vast hangar as Scott, Jeff, Greg and Mitchell stepped off the passenger elevator. They could hear him explaining about the pods and his 'bird. Scott chuckled at the bored looks on the faces of John and Gordon. Trevor and Lindsey just seemed overwhelmed.

"You mean to tell me you haven't shown them anything more than the giant green bug?" Scott admonished.

Virgil growled at his brother while John and Gordon snickered. Before anything further could be said, Jeff glanced at his watch and spoke up. "John, we'll have to be ready to launch in about one hour. NASA is sending her up at 1900."

"Okay Dad. They can see the second true beauty of the Thunderbird ships then. It's a shame we can't take them up with us so they can see what a _real_ Thunderbird machine looks like."

This time, Scott and Gordon joined Virgil in snarling at their brother. Jeff chuckled.

"What is that all about?" Greg was chuckling himself at their antics.

"My boys are just a tad bit protective about their respective birds and don't like the others calling them names," explained Jeff. "Needless to say, it does get a bit amusing around here at times."

"I'll bet."

Mitchell whistled in appreciation as he walked around Thunderbird Two. "Boy, the descriptions and models don't do this baby justice."

Virgil beamed at the praise given to his craft. "Nope. None of them even come close."

"Kind of surprising considering how much slower she flies than Thunderbird One," commented Lindsey. She saw Virgil get ready to snarl again. "Oh come on Virgil! I mean, it would be easy for anyone to snap pictures of her when she's taking off or landing. This thing is HUGE!"

Virgil nodded. "They could, but the camera detectors would pick up the attempt and automatically send out a signal that disables their camera."

Greg shot Jeff a look. "You and I are going to have to have a long chat about all this, buddy."

Jeff nodded and then turned to address his sons. "You boys know about the hurricane?" They all nodded. "Okay, while John and I are gone, I want you to get whatever equipment you think we might need into a pod and get Thunderbird Two ready for takeoff. It's not often we get a chance to really be prepared so far in advance, so let's take every opportunity we have. From what Fermat says, they are doing a pretty good job of evacuating the keys, so we may not have too many worries there. However . . ."

"Wherever Hurricane Lindsay makes landfall on the mainland we can expect some major damage," Scott finished.

Mitchell and Trevor snickered at the name of the hurricane, as well as the indignant look their sister attained. "I don't know why they insist on naming hurricanes after women." She sniffed and started to walk away. "I'm going to go check on Alan. You _boys_ can go play with your toys." She left before Virgil could warn her that Tin-Tin was already with his youngest brother.

"Come on guys," Scott beckoned. "I'll show you the _real_ pride of the Thunderbird fleet."

Gordon jumped up and down and clapped his hands. "Oh boy. We're FINALLY going to see my baby."

Scott stopped walking and threw his brother an exasperated look. "I wasn't referring to that oversized tub toy, fish face."

"Tub Toy?!" Gordon exclaimed. Jeff laughed and grabbed his second youngest son. "Come on boys. Stop arguing about your toys or I'll take them away."

Laughing, everyone headed into Thunderbird One's hangar.

TBTBTBTBTB

In the medbay, Tin-Tin sat quietly off to the side of the bed Alan was sleeping on. She was about to reach over to brush a strand of hair out of Alan's eyes when she felt her cell phone, which was in her pocket, start to vibrate. She got up and walked over to the door before answering it. As she started talking, she didn't realize that Alan had woken up. Nor did she notice Lindsey who was standing right around the corner and could hear her.

Tin-Tin only frowned when she realized it was Eddie calling her again. "Eddie, this isn't a good time to come out. We've had a small accident and Alan is hurt. Can we wait until the weekend to get together? (_Pause)_ Yes, I got them in the mailrun. They were lovely. _(Pause)_ I don't know Eddie. _(Pause) _We'll just have to wait and see okay?" Tin-Tin turned at this point and noticed that Alan was awake and looking at her with a scowl on his face. "I have to go now Eddie. Bye." She set her phone down on the table next to the bed as she moved to stand next to Alan.

"How are you feeling Alan?" she asked timidly.

Alan wouldn't look at her, but he did answer. "I'm fine. Where is Virgil?"

"Your father and brothers told the Simpson's about International Rescue. I believe they are all down in the hangars looking at the Thunderbirds. I can go get him if you need him."

Alan shook his head and instantly regretted it as the pounding returned.

"Alan, please. Let me go get him. Its obvious you're head still hurts. Are you dizzy or nauseous?"

"No. I'm fine," Alan replied through gritted teeth and he swung his legs around and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Just where do you think you are going?" Tin-Tin demanded. She had put her hands on Alan's shoulder to stop him from getting up.

Alan rolled his eyes, another act he regretted doing as his headache worsened. "If you don't mind, I need to use the bathroom!" He swayed as he tried to stand up and found himself sitting right back down again.

Tin-Tin made move to help him when her cell phone rang again. Alan glanced at the number on the caller ID and saw that Eddie was calling her once again. It was all that was needed to push his temper over the edge. He jerked his arm away from Tin-Tin, pushed himself up and headed towards the bathroom.

"I said I didn't need any help. Just go and answer your phone. Eddie's waiting."

"Just what do you think you are doing, Alan Tracy!" Tin-Tin demanded once again. Like Alan, her temper had finally reached its breaking point, although if she had to admit it to herself she really didn't understand why.

"What am I doing?" Alan shouted back incrediously. "You know what Tin-Tin? For the past few days I've been telling everyone that I would talk to you and try to set things straight between us. But every time I try to be civil to you, you push me away or push Eddie in my face. I'm tired of waiting on you to decide which one of us you want!"

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning that if you want to be with Eddie, then go ahead and be with him. I don't care anymore." Alan shouted and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

"At least being with Eddie I'd know where I stood," Tin-Tin shouted to the closed door.

Tin-Tin ran out of the room when Alan didn't respond, but was stopped short when a hand reached out and grabbed her arm. She looked into the angry face of Lindsey Simpson.

"I warned you about upsetting him Tin-Tin," Lindsey threatened. "So now I'm not warning. Now I'm telling. Stay away from Alan."

Tin-Tin angrily jerked her arm away from the hold Lindsey had on it. "Don't make threats you can't keep, Lindsey. You'll only be here for a few days and then you're gone again. How do you think that will make him feel?"

Lindsey laughed. "You've got a lot of nerve asking me how he's going to feel. What do you think you're doing to him flaunting men in front of him!"

"At least my 'MEN' are only on the phone, unlike you who drapes yourself all over him every chance you get," Tin-Tin shot back. "Don't try and deny it either. I've watched you ever since you arrived."

"Why would I want to deny it? Alan would make a very good catch for any girl. He's intelligent, has a good sense of humor, is handsome and a gentleman to boot." Lindsey shrugged indifferently. "Maybe the problem is that he's too much for you to handle."

Tin-Tin was about to respond back when she noticed John approaching them. With a growl, she turned on her heel and walked quickly away. John frowned as he stopped next to Lindsey.

"What's wrong with her? Alan make her mad again?"

"Oh, I caught her on the phone with that Eddie guy again," Lindsey waved it off. "She kind of spoke to him right in front of Alan and now they are arguing again."

John sighed heavily. "I'd better check on Alan. He doesn't need this aggraviation right now."

"I was just about to go in there when Tin-Tin stormed out," Lindsey explain. As the two walked into the infirmary, they heard a crash and a thud from the direction of the bathroom.

TBTBTBTBTB


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

_I'm trying to update more often, but this story is kind of getting away from me a bit. I'm doing my best to get it back under control though."_

John ran to the door and tried to open it, surprised to find it locked. He pounded the door with his fist. "ALAN! Can you hear me? Are you alright?" When there was no immediate response, he tried again. "Alan, answer me! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, John," a weak response could be heard from the other side of the door. "Just hang on a sec."

John and Lindsey waited impatiently for Alan to unlock the door. When John finally heard the telltale click of the lock being turned, he cautiously opened the door to the bathroom, his eye seeking out his baby brother, whom he found leaning up against the sink. John frowned at the shower stall doors which were laying in the shower stall.

"What happened Allie? I heard a crash," John asked as he gently gripped his brother by the shoulders.

Alan gestured towards the shower stall, which . "I got dizzy for a moment and fell against the shower doors. They fell off the track and landed in the bathtub."

"Lindsey?" John turned to her. "Would you please go and get Virgil?"

"Sure John," Lindsey turned and ran out the door before Alan could say a word.

"I'm fine John," Alan protested. "I don't need Dr. Virgil poking and prodding me."

John nodded. "Sure kiddo, and I'm the master pilot of Thunderbird Two. Come on. Back to bed with you."

With only some weak resistance from Alan, John got him back into bed just as the doors to the infirmary slid open. Expecting only to see Lindsey and Virgil, Alan groaned when his entire family AND the Simpson family all piled into the room and gathered around his bed.

Jeff was immediately by Alan's side, concerned over the flushed look on his youngest son's face. "What happened son? I thought you were sleeping?"

Alan sighed as Virgil checked his pupils and his blood pressure. "I'm fine Dad. I just had to go to the bathroom and got a little dizzy."

Virgil shot him a concerned frown. "How bad was the dizziness Al? And please don't try and hand me a line about it not being so bad. Lindsey told us you knocked the shower doors off its track so it had to be at least at the level of a good bedspin."

Jeff frowned this time and put his hand on Alan's shoulder. "How bad was it, Alan?"

"It wasn't so much a bad dizzy spell, Virgil. It was more like when you stand up too fast and everything sort of spins and blacks out a bit," Alan explained resignedly. He knew telling them about the blacking out bit would send Virgil around the bend. He was quite surprised when Virgil onlu pursed his lips and nodded.

"Is his concussion worse than you thought?" Scott wanted to know.

Virgil smiled and shook his head. "No. The dizziness is not unexpected. You just need to move slow for a bit, Al."

"But what about him blacking out?" Gordon asked.

Virgil cocked his head to the side and appraised his youngest brother, noting the flushed cheeks. He had also felt the rapid pulse. "I suspect it has more to do with the fact that Alan hasn't had anything to eat in quite a while and what he may have had in his system was lost when he threw up," Virgil reasoned. "His blood sugar level is probably pretty low."

Jeff reached over and smoothed back the hair from Alan's forehead. "Do you feel up to eating something son? I can have Kyrano make you some tea and toast."

"That sounds good, dad," Alan agreed.

At that very moment, Kyrano walked in carrying a tray with a few slices of toast and a cup of steaming tea. "My daughter told me Mr. Alan was awake. I thought he might be getting hungry by now." None of the Tracy's seemed surprised by Kyrano's arrival; however the Simpson's looked on in amazement.

"Thanks Kyrano," thanked Jeff as he helped Virgil place the tray on Alan's lap.

"Can you handle it, Sprout?" Scott asked. He had seen the look in Alan's eyes as he looked at the toast and a slight pale tinge colored his cheeks.

Alan gave his brother a small smile. "I think so. I am hungry and thirsty." As he picked up a piece of toast, John glanced at his watch.

"Uhmm, Dad? We'd better get suited up and ready," he hinted.

Jeff glanced at his watch and was amazed at how fast the time went. "Right John. I'll meet you in Three's launchbay."

Alan grabbed Jeff's arm. "What's going on?"

Jeff patted his son's hand as he gently pried it loose. "Nothing for you to worry about, son. You just concentrate on getting better. John and I can handle this."

As Jeff and John turned to leave the infirmary, they both stopped at Alan's words. "You better not bang up my 'bird!" They both only chuckled and left the room.

"What's going on Scott?" Alan asked his eldest brother.

Scott shook his head. "You heard Dad. Finish eating and then lay down and get some rest."

Alan dropped the piece of toast he had been eating, crossed his arms and glared at his brother. "I want to know what is going on. Why are Dad and John taking off in Three?"

"Oh!" Virgil suddenly exclaimed and turned to Gordon. "Gordon, why don't you take the Simpson's up to the balcony to watch the launch."

"Sounds like an idea to me," Gordon agreed. He gestured to their friends. "Come on guys. Actually, I think the pool area would be a better viewing place."

As soon as they all left the room, Virgil turned on Alan. "Okay Alan. I'm not kidding around now. You need to get some rest."

"I'll rest as soon as someone tells me what's going on around here!" Alan demanded. He winced at the pounding in his head when he raised his voice.

Virgil sighed. "Might as well tell him Scott. He won't give up otherwise."

Scott sat on the edge of the bed and hooked a leg up so he was facing his brother. "Alan, there is a category three hurricane headed towards the Florida keys. It's expected to hit as a cat four sometime tomorrow. We're getting ready for a call out so we can go as soon as its safe to fly to the danger zone."

Alan took in a deep breath and blew it out. "So why are Dad and John taking off in Three?"

"There's a shuttle on the launchpad that they can't get under cover before the storm hits. So NASA decided to launch it and send it to the space station. It has enough fuel for liftoff, but not to make it all the way to the station, so they called us and asked if we would give them a tow. Dad and John are on their way to rendevous with the shuttle."

Alan looked concerned. "But neither Johnny nor Dad have enough flight time with Three to be able to do that." He started to sit up, only to be gently pushed back down by Scott.

"It's alright, Alan," Scott assured him. "Dad is more than qualified to handle the tow and John's not exactly a trainee at this. It'll be okay."

Alan didn't look very convinced but knew there wasn't anything he could do about it. He sighed as he lay his head back down on the pillow. "What about the hurricane? Am I going to be able to go out on the call tomorrow?"

"I doubt it, Sprout" Virgil told him. Alan opened his mouth to protest so Virgil cut him off. "No arguments about it Al. Right now, you'd be more of a liability than a help out there. We can't focus on those who may need our help if we have to worry about whether or not you're getting ready to keel over."

"I could handle Mobile Control," reasoned Alan. "That would free up Scott to help out."

"We'd better just wait and see how you are feeling tomorrow, Alan."

"But you're going to need all hands," Alan tried to reason again.

Scott sighed. "Alan. Don't worry about it right now, okay? You don't need to get yourself all worked up. Let's just wait and see how you're feeling later on."

"Alright Scott." Alan finished his tea and toast. Scott and Virgil smiled as they saw him blinking his eyes rapidly to try and stay awake.

Scott took the tray away as Virgil got his brother laying back down again and comfortable. "Go to sleep, Alan," he whispered. "You'll feel better."

"Okay," Alan mumbled as he drifted off. "Virg?"

"What is it Alan?"

Alan sighed as he drifted closer to sleep. "Don't let Tin-Tin babysit me . . ." was all he could say before finally surrending to sleep. Virgil and Scott both traded glances and moved away from the bed.

"I don't like the sound of that," Virgil stated.

Scott frowned and shook his head. "This argument between the two of them is getting worse."

"I know it is. It seems to have gotten worse since the Simpson's arrived," Virgil added.

"How so?"

Virgil shrugged as he led Scott out of the room and the two headed for the control center. "I think Tin-Tin sees Lindsey as competition and is using Eddie as a way to make Alan jealous."

"Eddie!" Scott exclaimed. "I thought John took care of him trying to reach Tin-Tin?"

Virgil pulled Scott's arm to stop him as they had approached the kitchen. He took a quick look around to make sure they were alone. "Scott, John told me that Eddie is calling Tin-Tin at least twice a day and is still sending her gifts and stuff. I think that's why Alan's been so miserable lately. It would also explain why Lindsey has been so hostile towards Tin-Tin."

"I can't believe I'm not seeing any of this," Scott sighed in exasperation.

"You've been busy keeping our secret from the Simpsons on top of preparing for a possible call out after this hurricane," Virgil shrugged, then grinned. "I know its hard for you to admit Scott, but you're only human. You can't stay on top of everything."

Scott gave his brother a withering glare. Before he could say anything, the tell-tale rumbling sounds of Thunderbird Three taking off could be heard and felt.

"We'll talk about this later," Scott told Virgil. Both brothers walked outside and joined Gordon and the Simpson's who were looking on in awe as the great ship blasted out of her launch pad and roared quickly off into the skies.

"WOW!" Trevor whispered. He turned to look at Gordon and saw that Scott and Virgil had joined them. "That was amazing!"

Gordon was sitting on a lounge chair tapping his bare foot into a small puddle of water on the ground in front of him, completely disinterested in the launch. Scott smacked him lightly on the back of the head.

"Hey! What was that for?" Gordon complained as he rubbed the back of his head.

"You could at least _try_ and show some interest for our guests, dummy," Scott chided.

"Whatever," Gordon replied disinterested. About to ignore the glare that his eldest brother was giving him, Gordon only sighed, stood up next to Trevor and looked up in the sky.

"Oooooo, aaaahhhh," he crooned then turned back to Scott. "Happy?"

Virgil snorted back a laugh and turned away. Mitchell, Lindsey and Greg all chuckled at Gordon's antics.

"I guess you do get kind of blasé about stuff like this when you see them often enough," Mitch reasoned.

"I never did," Greg told them. "No matter how many times I saw, or was part of a rocket launch, it was like seeing it for the very first time."

"Does you Dad go up very often?" Trevor wanted to know.

"Not so much since Alan became a full time member of IR," Virgil explained. "Before he did, Dad primarily flew my 'Bird if we were short-handed on a rescue." He shared a rolling of the eyes glance with Scott, who grinned.

Greg eyed them warily. "Why do I get the impression there's something you're not telling us? Jeff Tracy isn't exactly someone who would step aside just because Alan finally became of age."

"I guess its our turn to come clean," Gordon told his older brothers.

TBTBTBTBTB

_I hope to be able to finish this story before the end of the year. I'm trying, but my muse is pulling me towards finishing my other new story and not giving me story ideas for this one. _


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

_As I said before, the story is getting away from me a bit. Unfortunately, it's also writing itself and my fingers are just supplying the pressure for the keys. I'm trying to make each chapter about seven pages long. I hope you don't hate it too much now._

"Come clean?" asked Greg. He looked over at his own kids and noted that none of them would look him in the eye. "Okay. I want someone to start talking! Come clean about what?"

Before any of the kids could say a word, Grandma Tracy called out. "Lindsey, would you please come and help me get dinner going?"

"Coming Grandma!" Lindsey called back and darted away from the group.

Greg gestured to the boys to sit down. "Alright. Now, what exactly did you mean by the comment Gordon?"

"Dad," Mitchell replied hesitantly. "You're not going to be very happy about this, but I felt we needed to come clean with the Tracy's. The three of us told all of them about your heart attack and the story behind it."

Greg's eyes flashed in anger. "YOU DID WHAT! What made you think I wanted Jeff to know about that?"

"Mr. Simpson, Please!" Scott pleaded. "It's not entirely their fault. Dad can be pretty persuasive without you really knowing it when he wants to be."

Greg turned away from the kids while he got his anger under control. Mitchell and Trevor were keeping a close eye on him in case he needed any help. He finally turned back. "I'm sorry, Scott. I know exactly how persuasive Jeff can be."

"Dad, we really felt it was for the best that Mr. Tracy knew," Trevor explained. "We only did it because we felt he could best make sure you finally took some down time and relaxed for a change."

Greg sat down by his sons. "I know boys. You're only watching out for your old man. I guess I just didn't want to appear to be weak in front of Jeff. You know how we have been competitive our whole lives."

Virgil chuckled. "Nah. We never noticed it. We always thought it was just our parents being dumb." Everyone laughed.

Greg once again asked the question he had yet to get an answer to. "Okay, now would one of you boys please tell me what you meant by coming clean with us?"

Scott, Virgil and Gordon all shared a look and each nodded their okay.

"Well, it all started when Alan was still in high school," Scott began. "He was home for Spring break and he and dad had one of their usual arguments and Dad grounded Alan for the week . . ."

"Grounded him from what? It's not like he can run down to the store or go to a movie?" Trevor interrupted.

Virgil smiled. "Well, at the time it meant Alan wasn't allowed to participate in any rescues we might have gotten called out on. That was the lowest blow to him because he was ready to start training."

"What was he grounded for?" Mitchell asked.

"Oh, he and Fermat powered up the engines to Thunderbird One without activating the shielding device," Scott's voice held a hint of anger in it.

"What's a shielding device?" Greg wanted to know.

Gordon grinned. "It would be more appropriate to call it a cloaking device, Mr. Simpson. It's a program that Brains invented that disguises the sound of the engines of the Thunderbirds."

Greg only raised an eyebrow and looked on in amazement.

"Anyway," Virgil continued. "To make a long story short, Alan took off the next morning and while he was gone we got an emergency signal from John up in Thunderbird Five. At first, we thought it was struck by a meteor. But when we arrived, we found out it was struck by a missile."

"Someone tried to kill John?" Trevor asked in disbelief.

Scott shook his head. "No. It was a diversion to get all of us off the island and onto Thunderbird Five. Once we left, a criminal named the Hood invaded the island and took control of the command center. He trapped all of us on Five and shut down all the controls and atmosphere. That left Alan, Fermat and Tin-tin, Kyrano, Onaha and Brains to save us."

"We still don't know the whole story of exactly what happened on the island," Virgil picked up the story. "But somehow, Alan, Fermat and Tin-Tin managed to elude the Hood and his men and waited until they stole Thunderbird Two and left the island. Fermat got control of Thunderbird Five back to us with about 15 seconds to spare before we entered the atmosphere."

"While we were trapped on Five, the Hood told us his plan was to steal Thunderbird Two and the mole and break into the world banks and steal money," Gordon continued. "He was headed for London first. Alan convinced Dad to let he, Fermat and Tin-Tin go after the Hood in Thunderbird One while we joined them in London in Three as soon as we could."

"I remember that story," Greg spoke up. "Thunderbird Two landed in Jubilee Garden and then some device; I guess it would have been the mole, started burrowing underground. Didn't the mole cause the monorail to collapse and a car to fall into the Thames?"

"Yep," Gordon nodded. "Alan and Tin-Tin in Thunderbird Four managed to raise the car to the surface. That's about the time we finally arrived in Three."

"It's what happened after that we need to come clean on," Scott told them. "Again, we don't know the whole story but Dad and the kids went to the Tower of London Bank to follow Lady Penelope who went after the Hood herself. Dad told the kids to hold back while he went to look for the Hood. Well, he found him alright."

"The Hood had some sort of power of mind control and telekinesis and used it to literally throw dad into a cage he had trapped Penny in. Dad slammed his back pretty hard against the bars and had a hard time getting around," Virgil explained.

"Ever since then, he has a hard time doing anything really strenuous," Scott added. "He swims and uses the jacuzzi, but he knows trying to help us on rescues now is impossible. If we need an extra hand, he'll manage Mobile Control and on occasion, he'll do a shuttle run up to Thunderbird Five."

Greg shook his head. "You can't tell anything is wrong."

Gordon shrugged. "For the most part, there isn't. He's stiff in the morning if he sleeps the wrong way, or if he sits for too long it starts to bother him. But I've taught him some swimming exercises to do to help out his back."

"What a couple of fools we've been," Greg muttered. "Both trying to hide from each other the fact that we're just growing old."

Mitchell shook his head and stood up. "I remember hearing about what was going on in London, and even watched the newscast on tv. I can't believe that we actually saw Alan running to Thunderbird Two and we didn't recognize him!

"Luckily, the picture wasn't all that great," Gordon commented. "Plus you haven't seen us in a long time."

"That and the fact that the news crews pretty much respect our wishes to not have our machines photographed in any way," Scott added. "That whole incident actually helped us out because we were able to show the public how dangerous our machines can be in the wrong hands."

Trevor suddenly started chuckling. Everyone turned to look at him.

"What to tell us what is so funny, little brother?" Mitchell asked him.

"Come on Mitch! We're all sitting here discussing this likes it everyday conversation."

"Yeah? So?" his brother asked again.

"MITCH! We're standing here talking to the Thunderbirds! We're acting like we've known it all along."

Gordon giggled. "I think Trevor's brain finally caught up with the rest of him. It just finally hit you who we are?"

Trevor nodded. "I mean, we should be furious with you guys for keeping something like this a big secret from your old friends."

"Well, there's no point in rehashing that now," Greg said as he walked over to stand next to Scott. "What I do know is that a hurricane that size hitting Florida is not going to blow over without causing some major damage. Is there anything we can do to help you guys get ready?"

Scott looked over to his brothers. "What do you think fellows?"

"I was going to help Virgil get the pod loaded up, but I still need to check out Four and make sure everything is set," Gordon admitted. "We may need her and if I have to land in the Keys or any of the swamps, I want to make sure I can keep the engines cleared."

"I can help you with that Gordon," Mitchell suggested. "I've got some experience with DSV maintenance."

"Great!" Scott nodded his agreement. "What about Two, Virg?"

"I know Dad asked Fermat to monitor the evacuation process and if there are any pockets of people staying behind," Virgil began. "I'm hoping not too many do so because between Four, the Mole and the Firefly, I'm not going to have a lot of room in the pod for evacuees."

"Well, about all we can do is load up on extra blankets and first aid supplies," Scott reasoned. "If we have to evacuate anyone, chances are we'll be using the Mole or the Firefly at the same time and will have some room in the pod."

"Yeah, but I can't fly Two if I'm in the Mole or Firefly," Virgil countered. "Definitely not a good time for Alan to be down."

"Can we help out at the rescue?" Trevor asked. "I mean, I know we're not trained on the equipment, but is there something we can do to help out?" Virgil and Gordon looked to Scott.

"I'll have to think about that, Trevor," Scott replied hesitantly.

Trevor looked to Virgil and Gordon to see if they would be willing to support his request. Virgil only shrugged. "Sorry Trev. As Field Commander, it's Scott's call to make. Although, Scott, they may not be able to help us out with any rescues, they might be able to help out with searching. It wouldn't be too hard to teach them how to use our thermal locators."

Greg could see the hesitancy in Scott and spoke up. "Alright boys. You heard Scott. I think the best think we can do is to just help them prepare for the worst, but hope for the best."

"Thanks Mr. Simpson," Scott smiled gratefully.

At that moment, Lindsey appeared back in the room. "Time for supper guys. Scott, Grandma said you need to move it so you can eat something before you head to the control room."

"Oh Shit!" Scott exclaimed as he looked at his watch. "She's right. I need to help coordinate communications." He took off running to the chorus of "Language Scott" from Gordon and Virgil.

TBTBTBTBTB

It was several hours later when a relieved group of people finally began to breathe once again. Everyone had piled into Jeff's office to listen to the communications between Scott, Thunderbird Five, NASA and the Space Shuttle. It got a little tense when Three was getting ready to hook up to the shuttle and there was some miscommunication between NASA and Three on exactly where Three should attach the docking clamps. An argument between the shuttle pilot and NASA started out, only to be silenced by the thunderous roar of 'ENOUGH' over the airwaves.

Back at Tracy Island, Scott, Virgil and Gordon all winced at the volume in their father's voice. Scott happened to be on a separate frequency speaking with Brains and Fermat and they all watched Fermat rip his headphone off when Jeff shouted and then rubbed his ear.

Grandma smiled and shook her head. "He still has it."

"I'll bet John's ears are ringing," Gordon muttered.

"_You got that right, little brother," _John's response came over the speaker, followed by his image on a split screen. Scott had the feed from Three on one side and Five on the other.

"Everything okay up there up, John?" Scott asked.

They could see John's eyes swifly scan the control panels of Three. "All secured and we're enroute to the Space Station. Should be there within the hour."

"_Are they on a separate frequency?"_ the boys could hear Jeff ask. John nodded and directed the monitor towards Jeff.

"Brains, what's the latest on the hurricane? We're getting ready to fly over Florida in about 5 minutes and can already see the cloud formations from here."

"The next up . . .update is due in 30 mi . . minutes, Mr. Tracy. However, I did sp . . .speak to the Hurricane Center and they th . . .think the storm may stay at the Sou . . .Southern part of the state. It's weakened to a . . . a category Three and not ex . . .expected to grow stronger."

"That's good news," John replied. "It means when it passed over the Yuccatan, it weakend considerably."

"Maybe we won't get called out afterall," Gordon added.

Fermat answered this time. "You will, Gordon. I got a call from FEMA and they asked if we could still be on standby. The Keys are completely evacuated, but the major highways are blocked with the amount of cars trying to leave. Emergency Management is starting to pull people off the road and putting them up in evacuation shelters because they won't make it out of the path of the storm in time."

"What equipment have you got ready to go?" Jeff asked his boys.

"I've got Four, the Mole and the Firefly in one of the pods Dad," Virgil explained. "We were getting ready to put in blankets and extra first aid equipment. With those vehicles in the pod, there isn't a lot of room left over if we have to help evacuate."

Jeff nodded. "Gordon, stay in close touch with Fermat. If they aren't anticipating any water rescues, then we can leave Four behind."

"Okay Dad."

"Virgil, how is Alan doing?"

"Last time I checked, he was sleeping soundly, Dad. However, if we get called out, I really don't think it would be a good idea for him to go. His concussion isn't serious, but he really won't have any time to recover from it by tomorrow," explained Virgil.

Jeff sighed. "I know. He won't like it one bit, but I don't want him jeopardizing his health or anyone elses. He can handle Command and Control and relay between Five and us."

"Dad?" Scott spoke up. "The Simpsons want to know if there is anything they can do to help if we get called out. I'm asking only because Virgil brought up the point that they could help with searches if its needed. If so, we could spend this time teaching them how to use the thermal units."

Jeff frowned while he thought it through. "Greg? You there?"

Greg moved forward and stood behind Scott. "Right here Jeff. What's up?"

"Do you remember that time when we were in training, our unit got called out to assist the National Guard in California after that big earthquake hit?"

"How could I forget!" Greg shuddered as he remembered the incident. "It looked like a war zone."

Jeff cocked his head and looked Greg right in the eye. "This could have the potential of being a lot worse than that. My boys know what to expect; they've seen it often enough. Are your kids up to that?"

Greg nodded. "I see what you're saying, Jeff. Personally, I think so. Let me and Scott tell them what to expect and see what they want to do."

"Oh, come on Dad," Lindsey exclaimed. "We aren't babies."

Jeff suddenly cocked his head and pressed his hand against his headphone. "Gotta sign off Scott. We've got some adjustments to make with the clamps."

"Okay Dad. Give us a call when you're on your way home."

"Will do. Thunderbird Three out."

TBTBTBTBTBTB


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Scott stood up and moved around the desk to sit on the edge of it, facing his brothers and the Simpson family. He crossed his arms and looked over to Greg. "So I take it from Dad's comment, you have some idea of what we could be facing?"

Greg nodded. "Yeah." He looked at his three kids. "I'm not going to sugar coat this guys. There isn't enough time and I don't want to set unrealistic expectations. IF, and that's a big IF Scott decides to let you go and assist, you need to be sure you're going to face what might be."

"Dad," Mitchell whined. "Like Lindsey said, we're not babies. We know that we will most likely see dead bodies and we can handle that."

Greg looked over to Scott and sighed. "I think this is where International Rescue needs to tell some truths."

Scott nodded and shared a glance with Virgil and Gordon who nodded in agreement. "Alright guys. I just want you to know that I'm not trying to over-dramatize this. What I'm . . . what we are going to tell you is the truth about what to expect."

"Scott, I'm with Mitchell on this," Trevor spoke up. "Remember, we live in California and have been in quite a few earthquakes. We've helped people dig out from under rubble."

"Yeah, but have you ever picked up a side of a wall to find your victim dismembered, or beheaded or only found body parts?" Virgil added harshly. He frowned when the Simpson kids winced. "Sorry, but your dad and Scott are right. It's not a pretty sight."

Lindsey looked a little pale, but still asked a question. "Scott, you said to your dad something about teaching us how to use thermal units. Wouldn't those only show up heat signatures? If so, then how could a dead body or a body part show up?"

"Because the dead body could be in an area where a live person is found, or sometimes there is still enough heat left in the body to show up," Gordon explained. "We can't always rely on the sensors to be showing us just a live person.

"So the bottom line is," Mitchell cut in. "We may not know what we are scanning until it's uncovered and when it is, we better be ready to face anything, right?"

Scott shrugged. "That's pretty much it. Of course, all this is still assuming the danger zone is bad enough that we'll need extra help."

"What a minute!"

"WHAT?"

"Oh, come on!" was heard by all three Simpson's kids at once.

Scott only stood up and held out his hand. "Sorry guys. That's just the way it is. Virgil and Gordon can take you down to the hangars and train you on the equipment, but the final call on whether or not you go is still mine to make. If there is enough help from the local emergency services, then you stay here. I'm already breaking protocol by even considering taking you guys. The only reason why I am is because Number One: we've known each other a long time and we have been through some situations growing up in Kansas. Number Two: with Alan down and Brains and Fermat up in Five, we're short-handed if there are enough people who get caught."

"Dad!" Lindsey whined to her father.

"Sorry honey," Greg shrugged his shoulders. "None of you have any type of training and the situation could be very dangerous. If Scott or Jeff says you don't go, you don't go."

Lindsey turned to look at Virgil and Gordon, as well as her brothers. Virgil and Gordon only shrugged. Lindsey growled in frustration and stormed out of the room.

"I'll bet Hurricane Lindsay is nothing compared to our own Hurricane Lindsey," Gordon quipped. Everyone chuckled.

TBTBTBTBTB

Lindsey stormed through the halls not quite sure where she was heading, just knowing she was frustrated at Scott. Doing what she normally did when she had to blow off steam, she just paced around various hallways, clenching and unclenching her fists until she started to feel her anger start to ebb away.

It was only after stopping and taking in a deep breath that Lindsey realized she had worked off most of her anger at Scott and her father. She then realized she was just around the corner from the infirmary and decided to stop in and check on Alan. She no sooner turned than corner, than heard Alan shout "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!".

Lindsey broke into a run and ran right into Tin-Tin who was quickly leaving the room, slamming the door behind her. Both fell to the ground. Tin-Tin's cell phone, which was ringing, dropped from her hand and skidded across the floor. Lindsey looked down at it and could see the caller ID displaying the name Eddie. Her earlier anger returned full force.

"I thought I told you to stay away from him," Lindsey growled at Tin-Tin.

"And I told you it's none of your business," Tin-Tin shot right back.

"Well I just made it my business, sweety. I could hear him yelling down the hall at you to leave him alone," Lindsey stood up and grabbed Tin-Tin by the arm. "Why can't you respect his wishes!"

Tin-Tin tried to pull her arm free as the grip Lindsey had on it was starting to bruise. "Like I said, its none of your business!" With a might tug, Tin-Tin pulled her arm loose, but not before her hand managed to hit Lindsey on the cheek. That's all it took for Lindsey to lose complete control.

"I'll show you what is or isn't my business!" Lindsey growled as she grabbed Tin-Tin by the shoulders and the two fell to the ground once again. Wrestling back and forth, shrieks and screams could be heard as hair was pulled and slaps rang out.

The infirmary door flew open as Alan came out to find out what the commotion was. He stopped and stared, dumbfounded, at the sight of the two girls rolling around on the floor.

"Tin-Tin! STOP!" he yelled. Seeing that Tin-Tin didn't hear him, Alan tried the same with Lindsey. Getting no response from her, he reached over to try and separate them, but jumped back quickly when a wayward slap hit him on the arm.

"Great! Just great!" he muttered. Not knowing what else to do, he ran back into the room and hit the intercom. "Guys! I need some help down here." Not waiting for an answer he ran back out into the hallway and waited.

TBTBTBTBTB

"Alan? What's wrong?" Virgil cried out. He had heard Alan's cry for help and jumped to the intercom to find out what was the matter. When he didn't get a response, he shot a worried frown to his brothers before bolting out of the room.

Not needing to be told where to go, the four Tracy brothers, followed by the Simpson boys and Greg, ran down to the infirmary. Kyrano and Grandma, seeing them run through the kitchen, shared a quick look then quickly followed. All stopped short at the sight that greeted them.

"What the hell!" Scott cried out. Skidding to a stop.

"DAUGHTER!" Kyrano cried out at the same time Greg yelled "LINDSEY!".

Unfortunately, neither girl was hearing a word and continued to fight each other. Alan, seeing the cavalry arrived, moved over towards his brothers.

"Are you alright Alan?" Virgil demanded. "Why did you call?"

Alan snorted and waved a hand at the girls. "I need some help breaking them up. I tried and got slapped for my efforts."

"Are you nuts!" Gordon exclaimed in amazement. "Baby brother, you NEVER EVER try and come between two women fighting. It's too dangerous!"

Alan rubbed his arm where he was slapped. "No kidding!" he responded dryly.

While Greg and Kyrano kept trying to get their daughter's attention, Mitchell and Scott leaned back against the wall and watched the two girls go at each other. The remaining group stood by and watched in disbelief.

"I guess growing up with the five of you taught Tin-Tin how to fight," Mitchell observed casually as he watched Tin-Tin.

"Yeah," Scott agreed as he looked at Lindsey . "The same could be said about Lindsey and you two."

"True," Mitchell replied. "But she also had some help with the summers we spent growing up."

"So . . ." Scott added.

"So . . ." Mitchell repeated.

Scott sighed. "Should we break this up before someone gets hurt?"

Greg and Kyrano, who both had been trying to get their daughter's attention, turned on the boys.

"Well someone needs to do something!" Greg yelled.

Scott and Mitchell shared a look and both moved towards the girls. In one felled swoop, backed by years of experience in separating fighting siblings, Mitchell grabbed Lindsey and pulled her back while Scott grabbed Tin-Tin and pulled her away at the same time.

Lindsey was still kicking and yelling so Mitchell just sat on her legs and held her arms down. "I got all day to just sit here and wait baby sister."

"Lindsey Simpson! I have never been so ashamed before in my life," Greg yelled down to her. "Mitchell, let her up and I want you to head straight to our guest room young lady. You and I are going to have a long, LONG talk."

Kyrano at the same time was berating his daughter for her actions. "Tin-Tin, I am most ashamed at the display that I just witnessed. I think you should go to your room where you and I will also have a discussion."

Lindsey just started to walk by at that moment and turned to snarl at Tin-Tin. She was immediately grabbed by her two brothers who escorted her away from the group and towards their guest house.

"I am sorry Father, but this was not my fault!" cried Tin-Tin. "All I did was walk out of Alan's room and she knocked me down and then started to fight. I had to defend myself!"

Greg happened to be walking by at that moment and placed his hand gently on Tin-Tin's shoulder. "I have no doubt that my daughter was probably the one to start this Tin-Tin. Kyrano, please, let me get to the bottom of this first."

"You are most kind, Mr. Simpson," Kyrano bowed. "However, my daughter and I do have some things to discuss as well. I shall meet you in your room Tin-Tin." Kyrano walked off, shortly followed by Greg Simpson.

Tin-Tin glanced at each of the brothers, her gaze lingering a bit longer on Alan, before turning and running from them, heading towards her own room.

"Alan Tracy! You get your backside into the bed immediately," Grandma Tracy insisted. "Then I want an explanation as to what in the dickens is going on between the three of you."

Not expecting to be in on the reprimands as well, Alan jumped, startled at being yelled at. "Grandma! I have no idea what is going on between the two of them. Honest!"

Virgil took Alan by the arm. "Come on kiddo. Let's get you into bed first."

Alan pulled his arm free. "Virgil, I'm not getting any rest in there. Besides, my headache is almost gone now and I feel fine."

Virgil narrowed his eyes as he looked at his baby brother. Not seeing any signs of confusion or dizziness, he nodded. "Okay, but first I check you over. If I'm satisfied, then – and ONLY then can you go to your room to rest."

"Okay," Alan replied in a resigned tone.

Mitchell grabbed Trevor's arm before he could go in the room. "Come on, Trev, this is family business. We better go and help dad."

Gordon, who had been the last of the brothers to head into the room turned and smiled. "Thanks guys. We'll compare notes later down at the pool."

TBTBTBTBTB

Scott Tracy sighed heavily as he lowered himself into his father's chair thirty minutes later just as a signal chimed indicating an incoming call. Scott reached over and activated the comms center.

"_Thunderbird Three calling Base,"_ Jeff's voice rang out.

"Base to Thunderbird Three, I read you Dad," Scott responded as the video link came up.

"Scott? Is there a problem? I tried calling in about 15 minutes ago and didn't get an answer." Jeff's features conveyed a certain amount of concern that Scott knew was going to cause problems when he got back onto the ground.

"Sorry Dad," Scott apologized. "We had a little . . . problem that Grandma wanted resolved."

Jeff sighed as John chuckled. "Do we even want to know the problem Scott?" John asked.

"You'll find out soon enough when you get back, little brother," Scott said. "Incidentally, how much longer will that be? Where are you guys?"

John chuckled again and Jeff shook his head. "Closer than we were 15 minutes ago when we reached the final check in point."

Scott blushed. "Sorry Dad." He did a quick check of the radar and then pushed the control to open up Thunderbird Three's silo. "You're clear for landing."

"Thanks son. Thunderbird Three out." Jeff signed off and the vid screen went dark.

"Great," Scott muttered to himself.

"Yeah, I know I am so what else is new?" Gordon quipped as he walked into the office. He was followed closely by Virgil and Alan.

Ignoring Gordon's comment, Scott looked up at Alan. "You okay Sprout?"

Alan frowned but Virgil spoke up before he could. "He's good Scott. No sign of infection at the cut and I think all he needs right now is a solid meal and a good night's rest."

"Good! Then that means I can go out on the rescue tomorrow when we get called out," Alan beamed.

The telltale sounds of Thunderbird Three coming in for a landing filled the office. The brothers looked up and watched as their father and John skillfully brought the big red 'Bird home, nestled safely under cover once again.

"I think before you try and convince Dad you're alright Alan, you're going to have to explain what happened in the infirmary and tell him what you told us," Virgil warned.

Mitchell walked in before Alan would respond. "Hey guys. I just wanted to come and tell you that Dad is still talking to Lindsey and wants Trevor and I to hang around. So we're just going to call it a night."

Scott looked at his watched and was startled at how late it was. "Okay Mitch, we'll talk to you guys in the morning." He turned to his three brothers. "You guys better call it a night as well. If we get an early call out it may be a very long day tomorrow."

"What about Dad?" Alan asked hesitantly.

Scott smiled at his youngest brother. "I'll give him the condensed version, Sprout. But I think Virgil's right. You are going to have to give him an explanation. You know Mr. Simpson and Kyrano are going to say something."

Alan sighed and nodded his head. Gordon came over and threw an arm around Alan's shoulders. "Come on kiddo. You can practice your story on me." The two were chatting quietly as they left the office.

"I sure hope Dad doesn't come down too hard on him," Virgil commented. "I mean, its not completely his fault."

Scott shrugged. "I know that, but it has been distracting Alan somewhat."

"I know," agreed Virgil. "He missed the final check-in when he and Fermat came up to get me on Five and then I had to remind him to warn Base we were coming in to land."

Scott frowned. "See what I mean?" He turned and paced for a moment. Virgil cocked his head and eyed his brother, waiting for what he would say next.

Scott finally stopped his pacing and faced Virgil. "You know, Virg. I'm actually considering asking Dad to let Mitchell and Trevor come with us if we need them. I'd rather have the two of them with limited knowledge than a distracted Alan; especially if Tin-Tin has to come along!"

"I'm not sure Dad would let Alan go tomorrow anyway. He may say he feels alright, but we both know how well he can hide pain, and we know how quickly a small concussion can still affect you later."

At that moment, the the sounds of the lift that was carrying Jeff and John could be heard.

"You gonna stay here or head off to bed?" Scott asked Virgil.

"I think I'll stay and lend you some moral support," Virgil teased. "I suspect Dad is going to want an update on Alan anyway."

"I just hope he isn't in a bad mood cause this is only going to make it worse," Scott commented wistfully. They'd know in a few minutes.

TBTBTBTBTB


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

_Sorry for the delay in posting. I'm trying to get the story back on track and did several rewrites of this chapter to do so. I've also had a run in with the thing called real life that wouldn't allow the Tracy's to shine for a bit. _

It was actually closer to an hour before Jeff finally walked into his office, followed by John. Scott and Virgil both inwardly groaned when they saw that their father had showered and changed, which meant he wanted a full report and no one was leaving until he was happy.

Kyrano had just left after wheeling in a tray of sandwiches and coffee for the two as they missed dinner. Both Jeff and John immediately grabbed food and settled down to eat.

"So, I take it the tow was successful?" Virgil asked.

John nodded as he chewed quickly and swallowed before answering. "Yep. No problems. The pilot actually had managed to save enough fuel so that we only needed to get her close enough to glide over. He used what fuel he had to dock the shuttle himself."

"Well that was a lucky break," Scott commented.

"It sure was," Jeff agreed. "Scott, I've already discussed this with John, but the two of you need to make sure and run a diagnostics check on Three to make sure nothing was damaged from the tow. We didn't have any problems, like John said, but we've never used Three as a tow truck before and I want to make sure none of the heat shields or internal wiring that run near the clamps were damaged."

"I've already got Three's computers hooked up to the diagnostics, Scott," John told him. "But you know running a full diag takes the longest on Three. We should be able to see the results first thing in the morning."

Virgil grinned and looked at his watch. "Another 30 minutes and it WILL be first thing in the morning."

Jeff groaned when he noted it was 11:30pm. He shook his head as he leaned over to place his empty plate back on the tray. "I need to get some sleep. I'm too old for this stuff. But I want to know . . ."

"Hurricane Lindsay," Scott interrupted quickly, giving his father the condensed version. "Has been downgraded to a Cat 3, as of 2 hours ago so the expected damage when she makes landfall isn't going to be as bad as predicted. Fermat and Brains have been in constant communication with FEMA and Emergency Services as to what the expected number of people being forced into shelters might be. As of right now, they are still tallying what they can and will let us know,"

Jeff cocked his head at his eldest son. "Thanks Scott. I got the same update from Brains about 20 minutes ago. What I wanted to know first was how is Alan?"

Scott blushed. "Sorry Dad."

"Alan is fine, Dad," Virgil jumped in, shooting Scott a knowing look. "He's actually up in his own room sleeping. He said the headache is fading and except for some bruising that is starting to show around the area, there's no sign of infection at the cut."

"Why isn't he down in the infirmary" Jeff frowned.

The hesitation from his two sons, coupled with the look they shared, let Jeff know there was something going on. He sighed. "Alright boys. What happened?"

Scott shrugged. "Apparently, Tin-Tin and Alan had an argument that Lindsey overheard and she and Tin-Tin got into a fight."

Virgil snorted. "I'll say. Alan called for help and when we arrived, the two of them were in a real catfight."

"Damn! Too bad I missed it," John chuckled. "So who broke it up?"

"Scott and Mitch did their usual big brother routine and pulled them apart," Virgil explained. "Alan apparently had tried and got slapped for his efforts."

Jeff groaned again. "Please tell me this didn't happen in front of Greg."

"Sorry Dad," Scott admitted. "It happened in front of EVERYBODY; including Grandma."

"Alan sure got lectured from her afterwards," Virgil added.

"Great. Just great," Jeff muttered. "What a wonderful show of hospitality. What has gotten into Alan lately?"

"Dad, in all fairness, I don't really think Alan is to blame in this," John stated.

Before Jeff could respond, Kyrano had peeked in to see if he could take the try away. Hearing John's comment, he walked into the room.

"I am afraid, Mr. Tracy, that Mr. John is quite correct in his words. And I must humbly apologize for Tin-Tin's attitude since your guests have arrived. She and I have spoken at great lengths and she will apologize to Alan and Lindsey tomorrow."

"It's quite all right Kyrano," Jeff waved the apology aside. "This isn't the first time the Simpsons have been in the middle of a family argument. They won't hold any grudges."

Kyrano smiled and began to gather up the dishes and cups.

"You can probably expect to hear an apology coming out of the Simpson camp tomorrow as well," Scott added. "Mr. Simpson was pretty furious and took all three kids to the guest house and kept them there."

Jeff stood up and stretched. "Do any of you have an idea of what Alan and Tin-Tin are fighting about? I mean, this has to be one of their worst fights. If they don't resolve the issue soon, I'm thinking about benching them both from IR until they do."

Scott and Virgil winced and looked towards John, who only shrugged.

"In a word, Eddie Houseman." Seeing Jeff's eyes narrow and his brow furrow, John quickly added. "Apparently, the email blocks aren't working and she's still answering his calls. We can't do much about the mail though."

"Why is she still taking them?" Jeff demanded.

"Because I am being a stupid, selfish, jealous woman," Tin-Tin explained as she walked into the office. "I am sorry for interrupting, Mr. Tracy. I was looking for my father."

"It's alright Tin-Tin," Jeff assured her. "However, I do think we need to figure out what to do about this mess."

Tin-Tin nodded. "I know. It's why I was looking for my father. I contacted Lady Penelope and asked if I could stay with her for a few days, at least until your guests leave."

"Tin, running away won't solve the problem," Scott gently reprimanded her. "If you leave now, it may only get worse."

"Not to mention if we get called out tomorrow, we will really need your help," Jeff reminded her.

"I will stay until tomorrow and apologize to the Simpsons as well as wait to see what happens. If I am not needed however, I will head to Penny's," Tin-Tin assured them. She turned to Scott. "I'm not running away, Scott. I just think that Alan and I need some space right now."

"Honey, you must know that Alan really wants to talk to you," John walked over to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "He's pretty much said that to all of us."

Tin-Tin sighed. "I know. But I still think I should go. Besides, it will stop the tension with Lindsey and I really think I need some help from Penny on getting Eddie to leave me alone." She grinned as she looked at her father, Jeff, and the boys. "No offense meant gentlemen, but you're not devious enough to help. I need a woman's perspective."

Everyone laughed. "Alright Tin-Tin," Jeff chuckled. "You're probably right."

"We should be hearing from Brains around 0600 with an update, Dad," Scott reminded him.

Jeff nodded and looked at his watch. "Okay. I think that's it for the night everyone. We really need to hit the sheets to be ready for tomorrow. So I want everyone to go to bed."

With goodnights all around, the remaining awake members on Tracy Island quickly headed off to their rooms to grab, what they hoped would be at least six hours of sleep.

TBTBTBTBTB

It came as no great surprised to Jeff Tracy to see his eldest son sitting at Command Central when he finally walked in by 6:15am. Knowing Scott, Jeff knew he had probably been awake since 4:45 as that was the usual time he woke up. Jeff chuckled to himself knowing it was probably one habit Scott had picked up from his Air Force days and would probably never get up late.

Jeff smiled as he also noted Alan was sitting at one of the consoles and was reviewing what appeared to be the diagnostic results of Thunderbird Three. Since both his sons were still unaware of his presence, he walked quietly up behind Alan and placed his hands on his shoulders.

"How are you feeling son?" Jeff asked.

Alan jumped, startled and turned to look at his father. "What did you do to my bird?" he demanded.

Jeff only raised an eyebrow at his son's tone. "What did the diagnostics show?"

Alan quickly pulled up a section of the readout and showed it to his father. "Nothing too serious, dad. One of the heat shields near the clamps looks to be loose. Unfortunately, from the results I can't tell if the shield will need to be replaced, or just reattached. I'm going to run down and take a look."

Jeff reviewed the readout for a moment. "Have you sent this up to Brains for him to look at as well?"

Alan nodded. "Yeah. He's going to wait to hear my report and compare it to the results. However, it may have to wait until he's done with FEMA and the Hurricane Center." Alan indicated towards Scott who was just finishing up his conversation with Brains.

"Morning Dad," Scott greeted as he turned to face his father and youngest brother.

"What's the news, Scott?"

"FEMA is just now getting into the area where Lindsay made landfall. Their initial assessment is pretty much what we expected, lots of damage and some flooding. They did say they had one shelter they weren't able to get in touch with and were heading their first. They asked if we could stay on standby just in case," Scott briefed his father. "The count they got last night was about 75 people who were pulled off the highway by the police because they couldn't reach safety before the storm hit."

"So I'm guessing there is at least some police officials with these people?" Jeff asked.

Scott nodded. "Yeah. FEMA spoke with them before the storm hit, but haven't been able to reach them since. Fermat's been trying as well, thinking maybe Five's more powerful radio could get through."

"He thought he might have been picking something up at one point," Alan added. "But there was too much static and he couldn't clean the signal up."

"What about the rest of the state?" Jeff asked as he scanned the radars showing the path the hurricane had taken."

"The same, some damaged buildings and homes and lots of flooding," Scott shrugged. "The outer bands of the storm are still affecting the East Coast of Florida, but are diminishing. FEMA isn't expecting any trouble other than clean up."

Jeff nodded. "Good. If we do get called out, Scott, I want you to take off and have Virgil, John and Gordon follow in Two." He quickly held up a hand to stop the protest forming on Alan's lips. "No Alan. Besides, we may need to get that heat shield back on Three sooner rather than later. Remember, the shuttle is still at the Space Station and may need some help getting back home."

Alan sighed knowing his father would not back down on this. "Okay Dad. Maybe I can get Mitchell and Trevor to help me with it since all the guys will be gone."

Jeff smiled and patted Alan on the back. "Good idea son. Now, I don't know about the two of you, but I need some coffee before I try and simulate any more information."

Alan and Scott laughed. "Kyrano is actually up and ready to prepare breakfast as people come in Dad," Alan explained.

Knowing how Jeff felt about breakfast time with the family, Scott quickly added, "It was just in case we got an early call out Dad. He wanted to make sure we didn't leave on empty stomachs. You know how diligent Kyrano is about keeping the breakfast schedule."

"Not to mention Grandma," Alan added.

"No kidding," Jeff chuckled. "So Scott, why don't you head to the kitchen and get started. I'd like to speak to Alan for a moment."

Alan shot a look of dread towards Scott, who only shrugged and smiled apologetically.

After he left, Jeff leaned up against a consol and looked at his youngest son. Alan shuffled nervously from foot to foot waiting for his father. Jeff smiled and shook his head.

"Alan, look at me," he gently commanded. Alan lifted his gaze to his father. "I'm not going to get mad at you son. I just want to hear what happened last night."

Alan sighed and sat down in a chair in front of his father. "I don't really know Dad. I was sleeping in the infirmary when I heard a phone ring. Then I heard Tin-Tin talking to someone, then realized it was Eddie Houseman. It just seems like every time I turn around, that guy is talking to her and she completely ignores me." Alan shrugged. "I don't know. I guess the headache I had on top of everything else just made me mad and I yelled at her to leave me alone."

Jeff looked on compassionately at his baby. For the first time he really looked and could see that this whole situation really was making him miserable. He smiled as he remembered how he was the first time he and Lucy had a fight when they were still dating. He thought for sure he had lost her to someone else, only to find out that she was doing exactly what Tin-Tin was probably, albeit clumsily, trying to do with Alan. Make them insanely jealous so they would wake up and take the relationship to the next level. Jeff shuddered at that thought; not so much the idea of Alan and Tin-Tin, but more of the idea that his baby really wasn't his baby any longer.

"Dad?" Alan asked a second time.

Jeff started when he realized that Alan had called to him. "Sorry son. Trip down memory lane there for a moment." Alan looked puzzled. "I'll tell you about it someday. Son, I just need to know that whatever the problem is between you two is not going to cause you any problems if I need you and Tin-Tin for IR. "

Alan shook his head. "No Dad. It won't. I promise."

Jeff stood up and smiled as Alan stood next to him. He placed an arm around his son's shoulders and headed them towards the door. "I believe you son. I just don't want you distracted and have something happen to you."

Alan stopped walking just as they reached the door. "Dad, I've told the guys and now I'll tell you. I promise, Tin-Tin and I will talk and get this straightened out."

"Good. And to make it easier, Tin-Tin has asked to head to London and stay with Penny for a few days. She said something about how she needed another woman's perspective on how to get rid of Eddie and that we "men" are deceitful enough."

Alan laughed. "Oh boy. Penny and Tin-Tin conspiring with each other? Eddie Houseman doesn't stand a chance!"

Jeff agreed and then led the way to the kitchen. He raised his eyebrows at seeing the Simpson family sitting at the table. He was genuinely surprised to see Virgil up and apparently awake.

"Seems like everyone decided to rise a bit early this morning," he commented. "Simpson family, you have been the recipient of a rare treat this morning."

Grinning only at the frowns and puzzled glances thrown his way, Jeff indicated to his second son. "Virgil, wide awake before nine am and looking coherent."

Greg chuckled and shook his head in amusement at his friend. Their children were all chuckling and playfully teasing Virgil.

Grandma Tracy brought over a cup of coffee to her son and set it down. "Stop teasing Virgil, Jefferson.

Jeff chuckled. "Sorry mom. Did we wake you up when we got in last night?"

Josephine waved aside the apology. "Jeff Tracy if there is one thing I learned living on this island, it's to get used to loud rumblings and rockets shooting out of things. I slept through it all."

"You'll have to tell me your secret, Grandma," Trevor asked. "When you were coming back, Mr. Tracy, I thought at first the volcano was going active!"

Scott grinned. "We'd be in big trouble if it was. Most of the hangars are cut into the side of the volcano."

Tin-Tin walked into the kitchen at the moment and all conversation ceased.

TBTBTBTBTB


	17. Chapter 17

_I'm so sorry its taken so long to get a new chapter up. Blame it on the wonderfully written cross-over stories Criminally Charged has done with Thunderbirds/Supernatural. I loved them so much I got interested in Supernatural, and now, I'm sorry to say my Thunderbirds writing muse has been possessed by a demon who just won't let it go. I had to borrow Sam Winchester to perform some mojo to get my muse back._

**Chapter 17**

Tin-Tin walked into the kitchen at the moment and all conversation ceased.

TBTBTBTBTB

Glancing around quickly at everyone, Tin-Tin favored Alan with a small smile before turning her attention to Lindsey. "Lindsey, gentlemen, I wish to apologize to you all for my behavior yesterday," Tin-Tin looked at each of them as she spoke. "It was uncalled for, as has my attitude since you've arrived. I am very sorry and hope that we can start over again."

Mitchell and Trevor nodded and looked at their sister. Lindsey cleared her throat and moved to stand near Tin-Tin. "I'm the one that should be apologizing first. I never should have gotten involved in a personal problem between you and Alan, and for that, I am sorry as well. I'd like to be friends rather than enemies since we're both sort of stuck with being acquainted with the Tracy family."

Everyone laughed and Grandma came and stood between the two young women. "Well, if that's the case then Tin-Tin, I'd like you to meet a dear old friend of our family, Lindsey Simpson. Lindsey, this is Tin-Tin Kyrano, also a dear friend of the family." Smiling, Lindsey put her hand out to Tin-Tin, who laughingly shook it.

"Good," Grandma huffed. "Now that this nonsense is out of the way, everyone sit down and eat before . . . "

Grandma was interrupted by an alarm that starting blaring loudly. Lindsey yelped in surprise and grabbed Tin-Tin by the arm. The Simpson's looked at each other in shock as the members of the Tracy family bolted from the kitchen and ran towards Jeff's office.

"Go on boys," Grandma directed. "Lindsey, Tin-Tin, help me throw some breakfast sandwiches together and get them to the boys before they take off."

Lindsey looked puzzled, but Tin-Tin only grabbed her by the arm and dragged her over to the counter where the three women and Kyrano quickly threw together a breakfast meal for the boys to take with them.

"What's going on?" Lindsey asked as they worked quickly.

"That was the alarm from Thunderbird 5," explained Tin-Tin. "I'm guessing that Brains got a call from FEMA asking for help in Florida." Finishing up, they quickly gathered up the meals and ran to the office just as Jeff finished speaking with Brains.

"Okay boys, this is going to be a rough one," Jeff directed.

Scott nodded. "We've got Pod 6 loaded with the Mole and the Firefly and pretty much everything else we may need." He smiled at Tin-Tin as she handed him a breakfast platter.

"What's going on?" Lindsey asked.

"One of the evacuation shelters was pretty much blown apart," Gordon explained as he accepted a plate from Lindsey. "There's about 75 people trapped inside the lower level."

"Scott, take off in One and get going," Jeff commanded. "Virgil, Gordon and John, get down to the bay and do a quick check to see if we might need anything else now that we know what we're up against."

As the boys all left, the Simpson kids looked to Jeff. "Anything we can do to help, Mr. Tracy?"

Jeff caught Scott's eye just before he moved through his access panel to his bird. Scott only shrugged, indicating he would leave it up to Jeff.

Jeff frowned while considering the options. "Tin-Tin, you better prepare to go with them. They may all need to focus on evacuating the victims and will need help with triage and first aide."

"If that's the case, you could use my help Mr. Tracy," Lindsey spoke up. "I took an advanced First Aide course, almost to the level of EMT Training last summer and am still certified."

Jeff looked at Lindsey in surprise and then over at Greg, who shrugged. "She figured with two brothers constantly getting hurt, it would help."

Jeff nodded and looked over at Mitchell and Trevor. Mitchell spoke up first. "I worked construction one summer at one of my dad's plants. I know how to operate a lot of heavy ground equipment."

"I'm afraid I wouldn't be much help," Trevor put in.

"Yeah," Mitchell patted his brother's shoulder affectionately. "He's the geek of the group."

Jeff looked to Greg. "It's you're call, Jeff. They will stand by whatever decision you make."

Jeff nodded. "Okay, Tin-Tin, you take Lindsey down to Two and show her where everything is in the med bay. She can borrow one of your spare uniforms. Then let Gordon kknow that he and Mitchell work together to see what Mitch can help with."

"Sure thing, Mr. Tracy," Tin-Tin nodded. She started to leave the room, but was stopped by Greg.

"Hang on a minute, Tin-Tin." Greg looked at his two children. "You two remember, whether you like it or not, the Tracy brothers are in charge. You do EXACTLY what they say and no arguments. You're not trained the way they are and have no idea what to expect. They do. Got it?"

"Yes, Daddy," Lindsey agreed. Mitchell nodded. They both turned to follow Tin-Tin, Mitchell giving his brother a wink as they left.

Alan chuckled at the forlorn look on Trevor's face as he watched his siblings head out with Tin-Tin. Alan clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't sweat it Trev. I need your help with something."

"What's that Alan?" he asked curiously.

As Alan and Trevor walked back to the computer Alan had been using earlier, Greg walked over to join Jeff at the Command Center, just as Thunderbird One was launching. Jeff sighed and sat down just as Kyrano walked in with a tray of coffee and set it at the desk.

Kyrano looked like he wanted to say something, but Jeff only shook his head and held up a hand. "Nothing to say Kyrano. Besides, maybe this little rescue with Tin-Tin and Lindsey working side-by-side will help."

"Dad?" Alan interrupted. "Trevor and I are going to head down to Three and start work on the heat shield."

"Think you can help him, son?" Greg asked.

"Oh yeah, he can help," Alan replied sarcastically. Trevor punched him playfully on the arm.

"What I meant," Alan shot Trevor a glare. ". . .was that since I'm going to have to focus on the repair part, Trevor can run the computers to make sure I'm lining it all up."

Jeff nodded. "Sounds like a good plan son." Jeff looked to Greg. "Even with Alan's knowledge of Three AND computers, doing something like that is at least 2 person job. I'd help him, but I need to stay here."

"Okay if I come down and help, Alan?" Greg asked. "I do know a _little_ something about maintenance."

"Hey! The more the merrier," Alan exclaimed. He picked up the printouts he had been looking at and headed out, stopping just at the door to turn to his father. "Keep me updated?" Jeff only nodded as he started listening in on transmissions between Thunderbird 5 and the local emergency services.

**********

_Okay, this isn't as long as my usual chapters are. I just wanted to let you know I'm wrangling my muse back into this fandom and will try and finish up this story. Reviews would help encourage me and exorcise the Supernatural demon so I can._


	18. Chapter 18

_Okay, I'm apologizing once again for not posting in quite a while, but this time I have a real excuse. I had surgery on my shoulder and my arm was taped to my chest for almost 8 weeks. Then I had to endure 3 weeks of therapy so I'm only just getting back full use of my arm. So naturally, typing has been out. _

_So, now I'm hoping I can get this story finished up because it's not only gotten a lot longer than I intended it to be, it took a direction different from what I had originally envisioned. _

**Chapter 18**

Alan swore under his breath as the wrench he was using to tighten a bolt slipped from the sweat on his hands and rapped him on the knuckles hard enough to cause a bruise.

"Maybe we should take a break," Trevor suggested as he looked up from the computer. "We've been going at it for over four hours."

Alan heaved a sigh and sat down on the walkway. He frowned as he looked up at Trevor. "Don't remind me."

Greg Simpson sat down next to Alan. Like the younger man, he too was sweating with the exertion of having to remove and replace the heat shield on Thunderbird Three. "We're close to being done, son. We should finish it."

Alan looked at his father's long-time friend. "You okay, Uncle Greg?"

Greg smiled. "I take it I'm not hiding it very well."

Chuckling, Alan shook his head. "Oh you're hiding it much better than my father would be. Trust me. He's probably gone through two whole pots of coffee by now and paced another track on the floor."

Trevor joined his father and Alan on the walkway, sitting down next to Alan. "How can you be so calm about this Alan? I mean, your Dad said the situation was dangerous and we haven't heard a word in all this time. What if something went wrong?"

"Because if something did go wrong, Dad would've called me," Alan assured him. He shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly, a rescue like this could take up to 12 hours or longer, depending on the damage to the buildings and where the victims are."

"Twelve Hours!" Trevor whispered in disbelief. He turned to look at Alan in disbelief. "How do you guys keep going that long? I mean, the stress alone has got to be enormous."

Again, Alan only shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not gonna lie to you. It does get pretty intense at times and you feel like you're just not doing any good."

"What keeps you going Alan?" Greg wanted to know.

Alan smiled. "Usually Gordon cracking jokes or pushing Scott or Virgil's buttons to see how far he can get before they get mad. Sometimes, it's nothing more than just taking a break and talking to John."

Greg chuckled. "I can just imagine the conversations and how they go."

"Trust me, you don't want to really know," a deep voice resounded from behind Greg, who started at the unexpected voice.

Jeff chuckled and steadied his long-time friend. "Easy there, old man."

Greg sputtered. "Old man. I'll show you old man."

Alan and Trevor laughed. "I take it the guys are on their way back?" Alan asked his father, knowing that there was no way Jeff would be down in the hangers unless his family was safe.

Jeff nodded. "Yep. No casualties or injuries. All Thunderbirds are good."

"Does that include my two?" Greg asked just slightly anxious.

Jeff and Alan shared an amused look.

"What?" Trevor wanted to know, catching the twinkle in Jeff's eye.

"I think it'll be a long while before Mitchell volunteers his services to the Thunderbirds," offered Jeff. "Seems as though he wasn't quite prepared for, well, how should I put it? _Muddy_ the work can be."

Alan barked out a laugh. "I take it Gordon initiated him?"

Jeff himself was trying to contain his laughter. "If I said that Gordon was currently flying back in One with Scott, would that tell you anything?"

They all shared a laugh knowing it probably meant that Scott ordered that Gordon fly back with him, more to prevent Gordon from going to far than as an act of self-preservation.

Jeff finally calmed down and looked at the work accomplished by Alan, Trevor and Greg. "Looks good, Alan. Any other problems?"

Alan stood up, shaking his head. "No Dad. I double checked all the circuitry and hull plates when we pulled the heat shields. In fact, just gotta tighten a few more bolts and the works all done."

"Good work!" Jeff exclaimed. He caught Alan's hand as his son moved it towards a bolt. He noted the cuts and bruising around the knuckles. "No trouble son?"

Alan winced. "No trouble Dad. Just a couple of stubborn bolts in slightly inaccessible locations."

Jeff smiled knowingly and absently massaged Alan's knuckles slightly. "Make sure you stop at med bay and get some ointment for the cuts. You don't want Virgil after you!"

Alan rolled his eyes. "God please. Not that! I've enough of Dr. Virgil for a while."

Jeff cocked his head slightly before responding. "Sounds like Scott's home. You got about an hour before Virgil arrives and then 30 minutes of debrief."

Greg was about to ask Jeff how he knew that when the un-mistakenable sounds of a very powerful engine could be heard in Three's bay. As Jeff turned to head back up to his office, Greg moved to follow, anxious to see how his other two children were doing despite Jeff's assurances they were alright.

*****

After Scott and Gordon had arrived from the rescue, and went to get cleaned up and get some lunch, Jeff spent the time going over the rescue with Brains up on Five. There had been some problems with miscommunications that Scott had been uncharacteristically angry about and Jeff wanted to try and sort them out a bit before the debrief.

Alan and Trevor had finished the work on Three and were just walking through the main hangar bays when Thunderbird Two could be seen coming in for a landing. Trevor stopped and watched, mesmerized by the sight of the gigantic vehicle as it lumbered slowly towards its nest.

Alan, realizing that Trevor had stopped walking turned to see what had caught his attention and laughed. He grabbed Trevor by the arm and pulled him over to the side.

"As amazing as it is to watch, you want to make sure you're out of the way when Virgil turns her around and backs her in. Can't exactly put side view mirrors on her."

*****

The sun was getting low in the sky when the Tracy and Simpson family finally were all getting together again around the pool area. Kryano was busy preparing the grill for a barbecue and Onaha was setting up the buffet table for dinner. Mitchell and Lindsay were filling Trevor in on the details of the rescue. The Tracy brothers, minus Alan and Virgil, were sitting nearby with diligent smiles as they listened to the excited voices of their two friends.

Jeff and Greg headed towards the grill, each loaded down with a tray filled with meat just waiting to be cooked on the grill. Jeff had just stabbed the first steak when the sounds of Alan and Virgil could be heard heading their way.

"Yeah, its good. Just a bit stiff," Alan could be heard saying.

"Just keep flexing it, Sprout," Virgil told him. "It'll loosen up on its own. If not, I'll give your hand a good massage to loosen up the joints."

Jeff turned to his two sons. "Everything okay?" he asked just as Scott headed over to his two younger brothers.

Alan rolled his eyes as Scott grabbed his hand. Virgil chuckled. "It's good, Dad. Alan's hand is just going to be a bit stiff. He banged that finger he broke a few months ago and then from holding the wrench so tight, everything just stiffened up."

Jeff nodded. "Okay." He went back to putting the meat on the grill.

Greg shook his head. "I can't believe how relaxed you all are," he commented. "Mitchell and Lindsay are still on the adrenaline high from the rescue. How do you do it?"

"Trust me, Uncle Greg," Scott responded. "This was a fairly easy rescue even with the screwups made by the local services."

"So what would constitute a rough rescue then," Trevor asked as he sat down next to his own brother and sister. There was no way the Simpson's could not miss the frowns that crossed the features of all the Tracy's.

"Any time we have to deal with loss of life," Alan told him quietly.

Onaha and Tin-Tin appeared at that moment with a cart filled with appetizers and drinks. It wasn't long before the gloominess of what could have happened at the rescue was pushed to the back and the two families started having fun.

*****

Long after the sun had set, the patio area was surrounded with the flickering lights of the pool and the tiki torches that Kyrano had lite. Jeff and Greg lounged comfortably on some deck chairs, enjoying the silence of the pleasant evening.

Jeff smiled as giggles floated out from the kitchen area. "Sounds like Lindsay and Tin-Tin have put their differences aside."

Greg shook his head. "That girl. She was purposely trying to cause problems between Alan and Tin-Tin. She just can't keep her nose out of other peoples business."

"Don't worry about it, Greg," Jeff told him. "I have a feeling that Lindsay knew exactly what she was doing."

Greg looked at his friend for a moment and then just shrugged his shoulders. "If you say so." He sighed heavily. "God, I'm really going to miss this. I can't believe we've been here a week already."

Jeff nodded. "Time does tend to get away from you here."

Greg snorted. "And my kids were worried that they would be bored and have nothing to do."

Kyrano came out at that moment. "Mr. Tracy, if you will be needing nothing more, Onaha and I are going to turn in."

"We're good here Kyrano," Jeff smiled. "You go and enjoy the rest of your evening."

"Kyrano," Greg called to him before he could leave. "I just wanted to thank you for your hospitality this week."

Kyrano bowed. "It was our pleasure, Mr. Simpson."

"Nonetheless, having to feed and take care of 4 extra people on top of the craziness that is the Tracy household, my family and I appreciate it very much," Greg thanked him.

Kyrano only bowed once again. "Good evening gentlemen."

Tin-Tin stopped and kissed his cheek as she passed him. "Night father."

Lindsay paused by her father's chair. She grinned at how relaxed he was. "Feeling no pain there, daddy?"

Jeff chuckled. "Don't worry Lindsay. I haven't let him touch anything stronger than ice tea."

Greg pouted. "Like a damned nursery here."

Lindsay laughed and gave her father a kiss on his cheek. "Tough. It's actually a good thing because it means that probably for once in your life, you are truly relaxed and enjoying yourself."

Tin-Tin joined her by this time. "Ready to go?"

Lindsay grinned. "You bet I am."

"Go where, sweetie?" Greg asked.

"Oh, we're just going to join the boys down at the beach," Tin-Tin answered coyly.

Jeff grinned. "Uhm, Tin-Tin, you're going the wrong way. The beach is in the other direction."

"Got something to do first, Uncle Jeff," Lindsay replied with a sly grin. Both her and Tin-Tin then took off into the direction of the jungle.

Greg shook his head. "Do we really want to know?"

"Not really," Jeff laughed. "Don't worry about it though. Tin-Tin can hold her own against the boys."

"I'm not worried about the girls, Jeff," Greg assured him. "I'm more worried about what the boys will do in payback."

"Don't worry. If any of my boys are not able to fly you back home, I'll do it myself," Jeff told him.

Greg gasped. "Oh my! You mean I might be flown home by the Great Jeff Tracy himself!!! Wait till I tell the guys at the club."

Jeff joined Greg in laughing. "You jerk!" Jeff slapped Greg's arm. The both settled back in their lounge chairs and enjoyed the stillness of the evening.

That was until a loud crash was heard near the area of the beach and shouts of "TIN-TIN!" and "LINDSAY" could be heard.

Final chapter will be up soon. I promise.


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